Explosive batter Ishan Kishan shined with the bat in Match 51 of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 between Mumbai Indians (MI) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) at Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Tuesday.
Kishan smashed an unbeaten 50 off 25 deliveries to help defending champions chase down the paltry target of 91 in 8.2 overs. The Patna-born was honoured by none other than Sachin Tendulkar in MI’s dressing room for the terrific batting display.
After receiving the award from Tendulkar – the mentor of the Mumbai-based franchise – Kishan asked his teammates to put up a similar show in their upcoming and last fixture of league stage against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).
“It was a very good game and a much-needed one for our team to get back in shape. Let’s do it again in the next match”, said Kishan while addressing his teammates in a video shared by MI on Twitter.
MI frontline pacer Jasprit Bumrah was also awarded for his performance in the game. Zaheer Khan, who is MI’s Director of Cricket Operations, honoured Bumrah for taking two wickets in 4 overs to help the team restrict RR for a mere 90.
“Really happy to get the win, and let’s take one game at a time, which is the next one. Let’s focus on what we can control, and let’s hope for the best”, said Bumrah.
Further, all-rounder James Neesham, who claimed three scalps for 12 runs in the game, received his award from head coach Mahela Jayawardene. Neesham said: “It’s good to be back. Good to be back out there after a long time. Let’s keep it going.”
Here is the video:
3⃣ Dressing Room Players of the Match award winners 🤩
1️⃣ rallying cry at the end 🔥Do not miss this one! 💙#OneFamily #MumbaiIndians #KhelTakaTak #IPL2021 #RRvMI @MXTakaTak MI TV pic.twitter.com/46WwxaAUtq
— Mumbai Indians (@mipaltan) October 6, 2021
The eight-wicket win over RR inspired the Rohit Sharma-led team to reach the fifth spot in the standings with one match to go. They are level on points with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), but KKR is comfortably placed at the fourth position due to a better net run rate. They also have one game left in the league stage.
The top-four teams in the Points Table will qualify for the knockout stages, with Delhi Capitals (DC), Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) having already progressed to the playoffs.
