Mumbai Indians’ return to Wankhede Stadium didn’t start as the players and fans would’ve liked to go. Rajasthan Royals’ bowling lineup was right on the money throughout the 1st innings and helped the visitors extract Mumbai to a paltry 125/9 in the end.
Put to bat first, former skipper Rohit Sharma was sent back to the pavilion on a golden duck which silenced the Wankhede crowd very early on in the innings.
What followed was a complete batting order meltdown courtesy of Rajasthan pacers like Trent Boult, Nandre Burger, and Avesh Khan.
MI Batting Meltdown
After Boult took out Rohit, Naman, and impact substitute Dewald Brevis in his first two overs, Nandre Burger went on to dismiss opener Ishan Kishan cheaply as well. Mumbai were struggling at 20/4 at just 3.3 overs.
It was skipper Hardik Pandya and Tilak Varma who pitched in some valuable runs on the board and took the score to 76/6. However, Hardik Pandya failed to finish strongly and was dismissed after a poor shot courtesy of Yuzvendra Chahal.
Tilak Varma’s 29-ball 32 and Tim David’s 17-run cameo couldn’t help Mumbai get a healthy total in the end as wickets at regular intervals saw the home side settle for a below-average score of 125/9 in their 20 overs.
Trent Boult Masterclass
GOLDEN DUCK FOR ROHIT SHARMA.
GOLDEN DUCK FOR NAMAN DHIR.
GOLDEN DUCK FOR DEWALD BREVIS.Trent Boult is on fire – 3 wickets with all on golden ducks…!!! 🤯💥 pic.twitter.com/zv0ulyqh6v
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) April 1, 2024
The decisive spell in the 1st innings proved to be of Kiwi pacer Trent Boult, who once again proved his mettle with the new ball and took some of the finest hitters of the ball out of the game pretty quickly. Boult ended with a breathtaking spell of 3/22 in his 4 overs. Yuzvendra Chahal also got himself a three-wicket haul as well, taking out Hardik Pandya from the game.
Also Read: Rohit Sharma Posters Banned At Wankhede? Video Showing Evidence Goes Viral