Jaipur: Openers Rohit Sharma and Ryan Rickelton struck sublime half-centuries to power Mumbai Indians to 217 for two in their Indian Premier League game against Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur Thursday.
Expecting heavy dew, Royals put the opposition in, but Rohit (53 off 36 balls) and Rickelton (61 off 38) put the home team under pressure with a sizzling display of clean hitting.
In their 116-run stand, Rickelton targeted the quick bowlers while Rohit went after spinners especially Maheesh Theekshana, who was introduced as early as third over.
Suryakumar Yadav (48 not out off 23) and skipper Hardik Pandya (48 not out off 23) capitalised on the openers’ good work to take the team past 200.
Jofra Archer bowled a tight first over, but the Mumbai openers collected 18 runs off his second. Notwithstanding the express pace of Archer, Rohit made room to cut the England pacer for a four before Rickleton pulled him for a six over mid-wicket.
The standout stroke of Rickelton’s innings was the nonchalant flick off Fazalhaq Farooqi that went all the way.
Mumbai Indians cruised to 58 for no loss in the powerplay after Rohit dispatched Maheesh Theekshana for back-to-back fours over mid-off. The lofted drive over extra cover from Rohit off Akash Madhwal oozed class.
Left-arm spinner Kumar Kartikeya offered a half tracker to Rickelton and he duly dismissed it off his presence for a six and a well-deserved half-century.
Rohit, who did not start the tournament well, is back to his best. He hit a wide delivery from Theekshna over backwards point to complete his fifty.
Both the openers were dismissed in quick succession but it was not an issue for Mumbai Indians with plenty of batting to come.
Suryakumar batted like he only can and one of his audacious hits included a scoop over fine leg off Archer that saw the batter falling on the floor. He smashed the last ball of the innings for a six down the ground off Madhwal, who otherwise impressed with his yorkers.
The last five overs fetched 71 runs for Mumbai Indians.
PTI
