A terrible misjudgment of a run by skipper Rohit Sharma followed Suryakumar Yadav's dismissal in the same over, thereby putting the skids on what promised to be a 190-200 against Rajasthan on Sunday night
Suryakumar
Mumbai need to address their woes in the middle overs soon because they are denying them those extra 20 to 25 runs in the final analysis. A terrible misjudgment of a run by skipper Rohit Sharma followed Suryakumar Yadav's dismissal in the same over, thereby putting the skids on what promised to be a 190-200 against Rajasthan on Sunday night.
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Rajasthan continue to throw up young stars and Krishnappa Gowtham provided a MS Dhoni-like finish in the last over. Cool, assured and brave was Gowtham! He has also been bowling well in every game and now finds himself right in the thick of things for Rajasthan.
Rajasthan kept fighting till the end and were well-served by some brave batting in the latter half of the order. Some crucial points of Sunday's game:
* Without doubt, Rohit's run out was the turning point in the game. Mumbai looked to be headed for a big total and it was the right move by Rohit to promote Pollard over himself. If Rohit had batted for another three to four overs with Pollard, the result could have been different.
* Mumbai started brilliantly and the move to promote Suryakumar is working superbly. I dare say he could be in the national team's plans for the 2020 T20 World Cup. He is reading the minds of bowlers very well and that shows his focus is razor sharp.
* Ishan Kishan is also improving with every game, but Mumbai have shown a little bit of complacency in the middle overs and the batsmen who settle in, will need to shoulder responsibility to ensure that the big total is indeed reached.
* Jofra Archer has red-hot pace with an apparent amble to the wicket. Archer ensured he put the brakes firmly on Mumabi by bowling two searing yorkers in the same over to get rid of Hardik Pandya and Mitchell McClenaghan. Archer is one to watch in this T20 2018 and if Rajasthan have to have any chance of making the playoffs, Samson, Archer and Jaydev Unadkat will need to be right on the money in all games.
* Unadkat is a worry though, and looks under pressure. He will do well to go back to last season and correct those wrongs. He seems to be offering a lot of width to the batsmen and in T20, that's asking for punishment. Ben Stokes will also come good with the bat, but will he be able to do so in time? I'm also not sure if he is at the right spot in the bowling line-up because he can be more effective if given a chance with the new ball for an over at least to see if it's swinging.
* Jasprit Bumrah is the real deal, but his concentration needs to be more consistent. He took his foot off the pedal mentally once or twice and was punished severely. Such is this league and such is this great game! It's all about your next ball, both as a batsman and a bowler. Easier said than done, though.
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