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Prior to this encounter, Rajasthan Royals had successfully defended seven of the eight totals posted in the Indian Premier League 2022. On the other hand, Mumbai's woeful run of results was the worst in the franchise's history.
When Mumbai Captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and decided to field, the odds were already heavily stacked against his side.
Fast forward to the second half of the game and with Rajasthan setting a target of 161 to chase, Mumbai started off in the worst way possible, with both openers falling even before the end of the batting Powerplay and the team dangling precariously at 41-2.
Batting for the first time this season at number three, Surya Kumar Yadav walked in following the fall of his captain's wicket, Rohit caught Daryl Mitchell off Ravivhandran Ashwin.
SKY didn't take much time to get set as his first two boundaries arrived while playing alongside Ishan Kishan -- the latter, a man on a mission to answer his critics and ostensibly looking to go after every Rajasthan bowler to prove that very point.
But Rajasthan had the last laugh as Ishan was dismissed by Trent Boult attempted what can only be described as a reckless pull shot off a short-pitched delivery that carried through to wicket-keeper Sanju Samson.
In the reliable Tilak Varma, SKY found an ideal partner who was willing to go the distance and together they rebuilt the Mumbai innings. Together they added 81 runs for the third wicket that would form the foundation for the successful run chase.
After their rampage against Mitchell in a memorable 7th over, that included 3 fours and a six, which added 20 runs to the MI total, SKY and Tilak went through a lengthy period of four overs when the boundaries dried up and the scoreboard was kept ticking with a steady stream of ones and twos.
SKY went after Rajasthan's in-form spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Ashwin, hitting sixes off both in the 12th and 14th over. Even though he said later that he would have loved to see his team through to the end, he was dismissed in the 15th over trying to hit Chahal off the park, Riyan Parag taking a sublime catch inches away from the boundary ropes.
Eventually, Mumbai held on to record its first win of the season, the perfect gift for birthday boy Captain Rohit Sharma.
'I love batting at No 3 because the situation I go in, I can pace my innings accordingly looking at the situation,' SKY said after the game.
In retrospect, it was one of the best decisions made by Mumbai Indians all season long and it will be interesting to see MI can turn a corner this late in IPL 2022.