It was a hard lesson for the young batting line-up of Rajasthan Royals as they were sent crashing back to earth by a rampaging Mumbai Indians bowling attack in Jaipur on Thursday.
The Royals were flying high after Vaibhav Suryavanshi's 35-ball century powered them to an emphatic eight-wicket victory over Gujarat Titans, chasing down 210 in just 15.5 overs.
But the confident RR batters were humbled at home by an experienced MI attack firing on all cylinders.
Before the match, all the talk was on how Suryavanshi would fare against the likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult.
However, it turned out to be a no-show, as the 14-year-old perished in the first over. Looking to hit Deepak Chahar straight down the ground, he holed out to the fielder at mid-off.
The young left-hander got a taste of the sport's unpredictability. Just days after his sensational century, he was dismissed for a two-ball duck.
While Deepak Chahar provided the early breakthrough, it was the experienced Boult who left Royals in a complete mess in the early overs.
Playing in his 11th IPL season, the Kiwi veteran was welcomed with a couple of sixes by Yashasvi Jaiswal. But Boult had the last laugh, cleaning up Jaiswal for 13 and then dismissing Nitish Rana, caught at deep square leg in his next over.
Jasprit Bumrah then finished off the Royals' hopes with a double strike in his first over.
Captain Riyan Parag top-edged a short ball and was caught by Rohit Sharma, while Shimron Hetmyer fell to an unbelievable reflex catch by Suryakumar Yadav at short midwicket.
There was no way back for Royals after they were left reeling at 62 for 5 in the Powerplay.
Bumrah and Boult picked up five wickets combined from just 31 balls while conceding 43 runs.
The two pacers have played a crucial role in MI's winning run of six matches in a row, having picked up 17 wickets between them in the last three games.
While Bumrah is gradually returning to peak form after an injury lay-off of nearly three months with 11 wickets from seven games, Boult has been a consistent performer, claiming 16 wickets from 11 games.
Bumrah's economy rate of 6.96 from seven matches stands out and is currently the best by a pacer in IPL 2025.
MI won their sixth match in a row to go top of the standings, for the first time since IPL 2021. It also marked their first-ever victory in Jaipur in 13 years.
With pacers Chahar, Hardik Pandya and Corbin Bosch all contributing with the ball at different stages, MI have made up for the absence of a proven match-winning spinner in their line-up.
As the IPL heads into its crucial phase, Mumbai Indians are peaking at the right time. With their pace attack firing, batting posting huge scores and the team clicking as a unit, they have not only put the rest of the league on notice but also reaffirmed why they remain one of the most feared sides when momentum is on their side.
© 2025