Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals locked horns against each other in match number 42 of IPL 2023. The fixture was a special one as it marked the 1000th IPL match. It took 15 years for the league to reach that landmark after the first-ever match of the tournament was played in 2008.
As it turned out, MI vs RR also lived up to the hype of the milestone as it was a thrilling affair with the match being decided only in the final over. In the end, Tim David’s unbeaten 14-ball 45 helped MI beat RR by 6 wickets and 3 balls to spare. While the five-time winners needed 17 to win off 6 balls, the Australian smashed the first three balls of the final over for sixes to aid Mumbai bag two crucial points.
Prior to David’s amazing finish, it was Suryakumar Yadav’s innings that kept MI in the game. Coming in to bat at the number 4 position, Suryakumar scored 55 off 29 deliveries, an innings which was studded with 8 fours and 2 sixes. In a massive moment in the game though, RR found a way to fight when they got rid of SKY in the 16th over, falling to Trent Boult.
However, more than the the bowler, the wicket will be remembered for Sandeep Sharma’s superb catch. Sandeep, stationed at short fine leg, ran back covering almost 20 metres before completing a stunner with his outstretched arm. The splendid effort was described by commentators on air as one that could go on to be judged as the Catch of the Tournament.
The video of Sandeep’s special effort was shared by IPL on their social media handle:
WHAT. A. CATCH! 🤯
Spectacular effort from Sandeep Sharma to get the wicket of Suryakumar Yadav 👏🏻👏🏻#MI need 43 off 18.
Follow the match ▶️ https://t.co/trgeZNGiRY #IPL1000 | #TATAIPL | #MIvRR pic.twitter.com/0PVyi5z7SB
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 30, 2023
MI’s win has opened up the IPL 2023 points table. They now have 8 points from 8 matches with the help of 4 wins and 4 defeats. They have the same points as RCB but Bangalore are placed at sixth compared to Mumbai who are seventh. This is because Bangalore have a better net run rate of -0.139. MI’s net run rate currentlt stands at -0.502.
