Rickelton, Rohit hit fifties as MI post 217/2 against RR

Brisk half-centuries from Ryan Rickelton and Rohit Sharma powered Mumbai Indians (MI) to 217 for two against Rajasthan Royals (RR) in an IPL 2025 match in Jaipur on Thursday night (May 1).

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After being sent into bat at Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Rickelton smashed a 38-ball 61 with seven fours and three sixes, while Rohit scored 53 off 36 with nine fours. The opening pair put on 116 in 11.5 overs.

Suryakumar, Pandya shine

With a perfect platform set by the opening duo, Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya continued the good work with each scoring 48 not out off 23 balls each. Suryakumar hit four fours and three sixes. Skipper Pandya's innings contained six fours and one six.

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They added 94 runs off 44 deliveries for the third wicket.

For RR, Maheesh Theekshana and captain Riyan Parag were the successful bowlers with one wicket apiece.

RR are in a must-win situation to keep their playoff hopes alive.

What Rohit said

Speaking during the innings break, Rohit said, "It was important for us to get off to a good start. After a couple of overs, we thought the ball was coming on nicely. We wanted to hit straight. It was kind of skiddy, the wicket."

"(Rickelton) works really hard on his game... If he continues to bat like that, it augurs really well for us. It's very important for us to understand the pitch. I know one side is short, and the other side is big. The guys are pretty experienced in what they do. Hopefully, we can defend that target; it's a very good score. If you look at our batting line-up, a lot of these guys haven't batted for a few games now," he added.