This was a do-or-die match for champions Mumbai Indians and their bowlers responded in fine style to bowl the team to a thumping eight-wicket victory against Rajasthan Royals in Sharjah on Tuesday.
The Royals' opening duo of Yashasvi Jaiswal (12) and Evin Lewis (24) got the team off to a positive start before Mumbai's bowlers got into the act.
Nathan-Coulter Nile and Jasprit Bumrah dismissed Jaiswal and Lewis respectively before Jamesh Neesham left the Royals in a mess with his two-wicket haul.
Neesham, brought back into the team, made most of the two-paced Sharjah pitch with his clever change of pace. Royals captain Sanju Samson played a loose shot and threw his wicket away for 3 while Shivam Dube fell for the same score to the same bowler, bowled off an inside edge.
Mumbai's bowlers kept chipping away at the wickets as Coulter-Nile ran through the middle and lower order.
The Australian pacer finished with brilliant figures of 4/14 in four overs, while Neesham took 3/12 and Bumrah got 2/14 as none of the Royals batsmen got going.
The match was as good as over when the Royals finished on a lowly 90/9 in their 20 overs.
Ishan Kishan blasted 50 not out from 25 balls as Mumbai chased down the runs in just 8.2 overs to boost their chances of going through to the play-offs.
