Mumbai Indians (MI) took over the IPL 2025 leaderboard with a crushing 100-run victory over Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Thursday. Powered by blazing innings from their top four and a merciless bowling unit, MI posted their sixth consecutive win and their first Jaipur win since 2012.
Batting first, MI totalled a whopping 217/2 thanks to a 116-run opening wicket stand by Ryan Rickelton (61) and Rohit Sharma (53). Suryakumar Yadav and skipper Hardik Pandya then added unbeaten scores of 48 each, adding 94 runs off 44 deliveries for the third wicket. MI added 71 runs from the final five overs to finish on a high note.
In reply, Rajasthan Royals folded for 117 in just 16.1 overs, completely outplayed by MI’s sharp bowling unit. Karn Sharma (3/23) and Trent Boult (3/28) led the demolition, as RR became the second team to be eliminated from IPL 2025 after Chennai Super Kings.
MI’s Batting Blitz
The Royals began well with tight lines and seam movement, aided by strong winds and a long boundary. MI received an early fright when Rohit Sharma was adjudged LBW to Fazalhaq Farooqi, but a timely review saved him as replays showed the ball pitching outside leg stump.
After surviving the early overs, MI batsmen allowed their hair down. Rickelton and Rohit went after Jofra Archer and Maheesh Theekshana with muscle as much as precision. Rickelton's 29-ball half-century was marked by beautiful flicks and pulls, while Rohit reached his own half-century off 31 balls, becoming the first MI player to hit 6000 IPL runs in the process.
Though the two openers departed in rapid succession—Rickelton, to Theekshana's bowling, and Rohit, holing out at long-off—Suryakumar and Pandya ensured that there was no relaxation in pace. SKY lit up the innings with sweeps and upper cuts, while Pandya added weight with clean lofts and hard-hitting drives. They traded blows, shot for shot, identical on scores: 48* off 23 balls.
Royals Collapse Under Pressure
Chasing a huge target, RR's innings imploded nearly from the beginning. Deepak Chahar disposed of last-game centurion Vaibhav Suryavanshi for a two-ball duck, while Boult removed over Yashasvi Jaiswal after conceding two sixes. Nitish Rana and Riyan Parag also cheaply fell, with Jasprit Bumrah using the short ball to savage effect. He dismissed both Parag and Shimron Hetmyer in the same over.
At 62/5 by the end of the powerplay, RR were already out of contention. Brief resistance came from Shubham Dubey (15) and Jofra Archer (30), but MI’s bowling depth proved too strong. Hardik Pandya and Karn Sharma chipped in with key strikes, the latter picking three wickets including two in a single over. Boult wrapped up the innings by dismissing Archer, completing a dominant all-round performance.
Match Summary
Mumbai Indians: 217/2 in 20 overs
(Ryan Rickelton 61, Rohit Sharma 53, Suryakumar Yadav 48*, Hardik Pandya 48*; Riyan Parag 1-12, Maheesh Theekshana 1-47)
Rajasthan Royals: 117 in 16.1 overs
(Jofra Archer 30, Riyan Parag 16; Karn Sharma 3-23, Trent Boult 3-28)
Result: Mumbai Indians won by 100 runs.
It finished with a net run rate of 1.274—the best in the tournament—and not only headed the table but also issued a deafening statement to the rest of the league in the run-up to the playoffs.
