MI vs RR: A Madhwal special, but alas, not enough runs in the bank - As it happened
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Right, we now move onto our next game - on Sunday, April 7. It is another home game and we celebrate the fixture as an ESA Day. Don't lose hope, Paltan. In 2015, MI bounced back after five losses in the first six games to go on and win the title. So let's keep the hope and the support going! Until then, goodnight.
It was a game where the bowlers had the major say, and from our camp it was Akash Madhwal. The Madh Express started his first game in IPL 2024 and registered 3/20 in his four overs.
11:00 PM: Fin. The Rajasthan Royals completed the 126-run chase inside 15.3 overs. It wasn't our night, but we take this result in hindsight; some lessons to learn, some tweaks in plans and coming back stronger next time.
WWWAAH!
10:11 PM: And he adds ANOTHER to his shopping cart! Madhwal's 134kph bouncer invited Jos Buttler to go for a pull shot. But it went flat straight into the hands of Piyush Chawla at deep fine leg.
9:58 PM: Madhwal STRIKES! The 'Uttarakhand Express' bowled a short and wide of off delivery that took a thick inside edge of Sanju Samson's bat, and clipped the bails off his off-stump. Remember, this is Akash Madhwal's second ball of the season.
Breakthrough time ft. Kwena
9:20 PM: Intermission! MI's innings come to an end with a score of 125/9 on the board. After a rocky start, the home side rallied to amass a team total in triple figures thanks to the solid batting efforts of skipper Hardik Pandya (34 off 21) and Tilak Varma (32 off 29).
Now, we take a short break and then step out to defend 125 runs.
8:52 PM: 100 up for Mumbai Indians!!!!!
Where it really matters
8:20 PM: A 50-run partnership has been ordered, and delivered!
8:13 PM: Your prayers, your chants and your BELIEVE is needed here, Paltan! Flood the comments and get behind the boys.
8:05 PM: The powerplay ends with MI at 46/4. Captain Hardik stepped out and smashed three boundaries in the sixth over to get the Blue and Gold closer to the 50-run mark. Alongside him is Tilak Varma, another player who knows how to play in pressure situations.
7:39 PM: An impact sub - Dewald Brevis for Naman Dhir - and Ishan gets the first maximum of our innings. It's coming Paltan! We will build on from this.
7:37 PM: A double blow! Mumbai Indians lose two wickets inside the first over.
The Playing XI for tonight is in
7:00 PM: TOSS Update - MI are asked to bat first by RR. Any changes to the Playing XI? Captain Hardik says one change.
The MUM-Boys are ready, are you Paltan?
And in case you don't know, it's 14 years since MI hosted RR in their first home game of an IPL season. Need a throwback to what happened? Well, we got you covered.
It's been 316 days since we last saw IPL action at Indian cricket's Theatre of Dreams, and for those travelling today, we have some safety tips for you.
6:30 PM: मुंबई! CRICKET IS BACK TO THE WANKHEDE. Welcome to the MI live blog of our Tata IPL 2024 encounter against Rajasthan Royals.