Mumbai Indians kept their nerve right till the end to score a thrilling eight-run win over Rajasthan Royals at the Wankhede Stadium on Friday.

Riding on Ambati Rayudu’s half-century, Mumbai Indians scored 187 for 5 batting first. Lasith Malinga and Mitchell McClenaghan then bowled brilliantly at the death to set up the crucial win that took Mumbai Indians’ tally to six points.

Royals began their chase well and raced to 55 for 1 in the first six overs. Sanju Samson, batting at No 3, played one of the best knocks of the IPL 2015, to keep the Royal’s chase on course. Mumbai Indians made sure that the required run-rate always stayed around 10 runs per over. McClenaghan gave Mumbai Indians the upper hand with a brilliant over, the 15th of the Royal’s innings, in which he beat Steve Smith four times, and eventually forced him to top edge one down to third man’s throat. That over increased the pressure on Royal’s as the asking rate climbed up to over 12.

With 27 runs coming off the next two overs, Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma turned to McClenaghan again, and the Kiwi delivered by removing Samson and Karun Nair off back to back deliveries. Malinga then dismissed Deepak Hooda off the first ball of the next over, and conceded just six runs. Vinay Kumar then kept his nerve to bowl the final over, in which Royals required 20 runs for the victory.

Earlier the Mumbai Indians, put in to bat first, once again went in with a clear batting plan. Barring Lendl Simmons going down the track against Southee in the very first over, they hardly took any major risks in the first few overs.

And while Simmons kept taking singles comfortably, Parthiv Patel went after the Royals new ball bowlers. He struck five fours in the first four overs to help the hosts get off to a flier. Patel was dismissed by Dhawal Kulkarni against the run of play, as his powerfully struck shot was brilliantly caught by the bowler. Patel’s 14-ball 23, gave Mumbai Indians just the kind of start they needed, as they reached 47 for 1 by the end of Power-play overs.

Simmons soon began to find the boundary a bit more regularly, hitting Shane Watson for a four and a six off back to back deliveries. He looked set for a big one, before being unfortunately adjudged LBW off Ankit Sharma. Television replays suggested the West Indian had hit the ball with the bat before it struck his pads.

Skipper Rohit Sharma’s 21-ball 27 kept the Mumbai Indians flowing smoothly, and the skipper was well supported by Ambati Rayudu, batting at No 5 for this game. Their 25-ball 36-run stand had set things up nicely for the hosts, and all they needed was a strong finish with enough wickets in hand. And that job was done perfectly by Rayudu and Pollard, as the duo added 61 from 29 balls. Rayudu was striking the ball cleanly, smashing three sixes and four fours. His 27-ball unbeaten 53, and Pollard’s 14-ball 24 took Mumbai Indians past the 180-run mark, with 61 runs coming off the last four overs.