Mumbai Indians’ (MI) batting hero Suryakumar Yadav said that his side’s first win of this Indian Premier League (IPL) season will lift the team spirit.
MI beat Rajasthan Royals by five wickets on Saturday.
Chasing 159 to win, Mumbai relied on an 81-run third-wicket stand between Suryakumar (51) and Tilak Varma (35) to achieve their target of 159 with four balls to spare at the DY Patil Stadium.
Suryakumar and Varma fell in the space of three balls and Kieron Pollard was out for 10 in the final over as Royals threatened to snatch victory.
But Singapore batter Tim David smashed 20 off nine balls and Daniel Sams hit the winning six.
Rohit Sharma’s Mumbai, the richest and most successful side in Indian Premier League history with five titles, bounced back from a record eight losses but stay bottom of the 10-team table.
“Very happy with the way things went,” said Player-of-the Match Suryakumar. “It was an important win to have a good atmosphere. Really looking forward to the few games ahead.”
He later told reporters, the win will “spread positivity” and help everyone “learn” going forward in this season.
