IPL 2021, RR vs MI as it happened: MI crush RR, get the big win they wanted
Follow live coverage of match No 51 of Indian Premier League 2021 in Sharjah.

The twists and turns of The IPL qualification dance. MI, who totally pulverized Rajasthan today, will be cheering vociferously for the same team in a couple of days
— Joy Bhattacharjya (@joybhattacharj) October 5, 2021
#IPL2021
— Vinayakk (@vinayakkm) October 5, 2021
Well, wow! Mumbai chase 91 down in 8.2 overs. #MI's run-rate: From -0.453 to -0.048, a swing of 0.404 (into 5th place now) #RR's run-rate: From -0.337to -0.737, a swing of -0.400
#RR roundly thrashed for a rubbish performance, with bat and ball. #MI brutal in both departments, seizing on weaknesses to notch ip massive win, improve their NRR and keep hopes of place in play offs alive
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) October 5, 2021
MI 94/2 after 8.2 overs: Mumbai Indians win by 8 wickets. Kishan gets to his 50 off 25 balls as he finishes the game off with a six. RR were never in this.
MI 84/2 after 8 overs: Kishan bringing out the big shots. This is exactly what MI needed. NRR is going to crucial in the last round of matches.
MI 56/2 after 5.4 overs: WICKET! Mustafizur gets another wicket. Surya falls cheaply again. Bat turned in his hands as he tried to play the lofted shot. Suryakumar Yadav c (sub)Lomror b Mustafizur 13(8)
MI 48/1 after 5 overs: A brilliant start for MI – they need the quick runs and at the moment, they are getting them.
MI 35/1 after 4 overs: Kishan cutting loose and Surya would like to get some runs today as well.
MI 24/1 after 3.2 overs: WICKET! Sakariya strikes, Rohit Sharma walking back. He wanted to big but he got nothing on it. Something about this wicket makes playing shots very difficult. Rohit Sharma c Jaiswal b Chetan Sakariya 22(13)
MI 23/0 after 3 overs: Samson misses an easy stumping opportunity. Rohit Sharma survived. Didn’t collect it cleanly. Gopal got grip and turn from the wicket. Big miss.
For starters, MI can go above PBKS into 5th place on the standings, if they chase 91 down in 14.1 overs. Overhauling KKR will then be down to RRvKKR result and see what does that to the NRRs.
MI 14/0 after 2 overs: Sakaria starts off with a maiden over. Kishan unable to get the ball away.
MI 14/0 after 1 overs: Rohit Sharma gets the MI innings to a fabulous start. A four and six in the over from ‘The Fizz’.
MI begin their chase. Not too big a target to chase down but they just need to be smart about this. RR need wickets!
Lowest totals for RR in IPL:
— Umang Pabari (@UPStatsman) October 5, 2021
58 v RCB, Cape Town, 2009
81 v KKR, Kolkata, 2011
90/9 v MI, Sharjah, 2021*
This is the first time since 2012 that RR scored less than 100 runs in an IPL match.#RRvMI #IPL2021
RR 90/9 after 20 overs: This is the lowest total for a side in Sharjah after electing to bat first. The RR batsman just didn’t seem to realise that this was a wicket that required a more circumspect style.
RR 82/9 after 18.4 overs: WICKET! Coulter-Nile gets another one. Sakariya is bowled. RR don’t even seem like they are trying anymore. Chetan Sakariya b Coulter-Nile 6(11
RR 75/8 after 16.4 overs: WICKET! MI needed to turn up and they have. Miller gone too – trapped LBW. Coulter-Nile strikes. Miller lbw b Coulter-Nile 15(23)
RR 74/7 after 16 overs: WICKET! Gopal caught by the keeper as Bumrah gets another one. MI all the way! Shreyas Gopal c Ishan Kishan b Bumrah 0(1)
RR 71/6 after 15 overs: WICKET! Tewatia gone now. Neesham gets his third wicket. The MI allrounder finishes with 4-0-12-3. Just not good enough by RR. Rahul Tewatia c Ishan Kishan b Neesham 12(20)
RR 62/5 after 13 overs: Poor execution from RR in such an important match. Batters playing across the line and trying to hit on the up too. Time for a strategic timeout.
RR 56/5 after 12 overs: Is this already over? That is a question everyone watching this match will be helping themselves.
RR 50/5 after 9.4 overs: WICKET! Phillips walking back now. MI are all over this RR team! Balls seemed to keep a little low but bad idea to play across the line on this wicket.
Loving #MI's #UnleashTheNeesh strategy.
— It's A(c)LIVE 👻 🎃 (@_vanillawallah) October 5, 2021
RR 48/4 after 8.3 overs: WICKET! Dube gone too. Played on and Neesham strikes again! RR need to play the the next 8 overs calmly and get this total close to 100 before worrying about playing shots. Shivam Dube b Neesham 3(8)
RR 41/3 after 6.1 overs: WICKET! Neesham into the attack and he has a wicket with his first ball. Samson gone too! RR in big trouble. He tried to hit it on the up, got an outer edge to point. Samson c Jayant Yadav b Neesham 3(6)
The Powerplay overs are done. RR have scored 41/2 but this is a tough Sharjah wicket. A total of 130-140 might be a very tricky one.
RR 41/2 after 5.3 overs: WICKET! That didn’t bounce. Certainly not as much as the batter was expecting. Lewis went for the big shot and got trapped LBW by Bumrah. Review didn’t help. Lewis lbw b Bumrah 24(19)
RR 37/1 after 5 overs: Another steady over. This has proved to be a tricky wicket and what kind of total will RR have in mind!
#MI making powerplay count in their favour so far by breaking dangerous opening partnership. Jaiswal dangerous striker, he’s gone. Lewis also dangerous, but not looking so sure on his feet after the tumble
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) October 5, 2021
Nathan Coulter-Nile is having a very good season. His Average Bowling Impact of +7.4 this season is the 10th best ever by an Australian in the IPL (min 75 balls). #IPL2021 #RRvMI
— The CricViz Analyst (@cricvizanalyst) October 5, 2021
RR 27/1 after 3.4 overs: WICKET! Coulter-Nile gets the breakthrough! Jaiswal walking back, caught by Kishan. Jaiswal c Ishan Kishan b Coulter-Nile 12(9)
RR 26/0 after 3 overs: Shot! Bumrah joins the attack and Lewis welcomes him with a cracking straight drive for four. Bumrah, though, does well to concede just a single in the rest of the over.
Yashasvi Jaiswal scored 18 (28) in the Powerplay last season. This season, his strike rate has risen from 64 to 156 - a coming of age season for the Rajasthan Royals youngster, playing with daring early intent. #IPL2021 #RRvMI
— The CricViz Analyst (@cricvizanalyst) October 5, 2021
RR 21/0 after 2 overs: Big over for RR! Jayant takes the new ball and concedes 15 runs in his first over. Lewis hits the off-spinner straight over for six, before Jaiswal picks up boundaries either side of the pitch.
RR 6/0 after 1 over: Jaiswal gets going with a pull for four. The bouncer by Boult wasn’t quick enough and the left-hander put it away nicely. The physio comes out at the end of the over as Lewis seems to be in great pain due to a blow to his right ankle.
7.30 pm: Evin Lewis and Yashasvi Jaiswal are out in the middle for RR. Trent Boult has the new ball in hand for MI. Here we go!
Another game, and yet more changes for Rajasthan Royals. They've used 24 players this season, and 20 since the resumption - more than any other side. #IPL2021 #RRvMI
— The CricViz Analyst (@cricvizanalyst) October 5, 2021
.@ImRo45: "We need to read situations and not worry much about the table. If we play well, the result will take care of itself."#OneFamily #MumbaiIndians #IPL2021 #RRvMI
— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) October 5, 2021
Playing XIs:
Rajasthan Royals: Evin Lewis, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson (w/c), Shivam Dube, Glenn Phillips, David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Shreyas Gopal, Kuldip Yadav, Mustafizur Rahman, Chetan Sakariya.
Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma (c), Ishan Kishan (w), Suryakumar Yadav, Saurabh Tiwary, Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya, James Neesham, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Jayant Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult.
Team changes:
MI have two changes: Ishan Kishan and James Neesham replace Quinton de Kock and Krunal Pandya. RR have two changes: Shreyas Gopal and Kuldip Yadav replace Mayank Markande and Akash Singh.
Toss:
Rohit Sharma has won the toss and MI will bowl first.
🔙 in action very 🔜 💙
— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) October 5, 2021
We are off & away to take on Rajasthan Royals at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium 📍🏟️#OneFamily #MumbaiIndians #IPL2021 #RRvMI #KhelTakaTak @MarriottBonvoy @MXTakaTak MI TV pic.twitter.com/dM54iZ2Vro
📞 Sharjah Cricket Stadium
— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) October 5, 2021
🔜 An unmissable affair
💗 Let's go Royals#HallaBol | #IPL2021 | #RRvMI | #SambhaalLenge | @goeltmt | @Sakariya55 | @yashasvi_j | @DavidMillerSA12 | @Mustafiz90 pic.twitter.com/KYwUNq6QZE
Hello & welcome from Sharjah for Match 5⃣1⃣ of the #VIVOIPL 👋
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) October 5, 2021
It's @IamSanjuSamson's @rajasthanroyals who will square off against the @ImRo45-led @mipaltan in what promises to be a fascinating contest. 👌 👌 #RRvMI
Which team will come out on top tonight❓ pic.twitter.com/fhtP6U0nkY
6.50 pm: Hello and welcome to live coverage of match No 51 of Indian Premier League 2021. Tonight, Sanju Samson’s Rajasthan Royals take on Rohit Sharma’s Mumbai Indians at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.