IPL 2020: Match 45, RR vs MI – A record hundred by Stokes, Biggest IPL chase against MI and more stats

Rajasthan Royals stayed alive in the playoff race as they chased down 195 against the table-toppers, Mumbai Indians on Sunday. Hardik Pandya’s late assault of an unbeaten 21-ball 60 lifted MI to 195/5. James Pattinson struck twice in powerplay but some aggressive batting by Ben Stokes (107 off 60) and Sanju Samson (54* off 31) kept the Royals in the hunt. The chasing pressure built on RR as 89 runs needed from 8 overs but the next four overs fetched 65 runs bringing the required rate down to six. Stokes finished off the chase in the 19th over by completing his century.

Here are the statistical highlights from Rajasthan Royals’ 8-wicket win during RR vs MI:

Biggest chase against MI:

196 – Rajasthan Royals’ chase of 196 is now the highest successful run-chase by any team against the Mumbai Indians in the IPL. The previous highest target which MI failed to defend in the IPL was 195 against Delhi Daredevils in 2018.

Highest individual score for the Royals:

107* – Ben Stokes’ unbeaten 107 during RR vs MI is now the highest individual score in the IPL for Rajasthan Royals. Stokes went past Ajinkya Rahane’s unbeaten 105 which he scored against the Delhi Capitals in 2019.

107* – The unbeaten 107 by Stokes is now the 3rd highest individual score in the IPL against Mumbai Indians. AB de Villiers scored an unbeaten 133 in the 2015 edition while Adam Gilchrist scored 109* during a chance in the 2008 edition.

A record-breaking hundred by Stokes:

1 – Ben Stokes became the first player to score multiple centuries in the history of IPL while chasing. His first such century came in the 2017 edition where he scored an unbeaten 103 for the Rising Pune Supergiant against Gujarat Lions.

2 – Ben Stokes is now only the 2nd player to record the highest individual inning in the IPL for two different teams. His centuries for Rising Pune Supergiant (103*) and Rajasthan Royals (107*) in the IPL are the highest individual score for the respective franchises. Brendon McCullum also had the highest individual scores for multiple franchises – Kolkata Knight Riders (158*) and Kochi Tuskers Kerala (81).

End of Pollard’s streaks:

15 – The 8-wicket win by the Royals brought an end to Kieron Pollard’s 15-match winning streak as captain in the Tweny20 format. Pollard’s winning spree as skipper began in the last game of the T20I series against Ireland at the start of 2020.

2 – The RR vs MI is only the 2nd instance of Kieron Pollard getting dismissed by a bowler in the IPL 2020. He got out in the tournament opener against Chennai Super Kings which was the only other time MI lost a match (excluding Super Over) in the tournament. Pollard scored 190 runs in six innings he batted across the nine games between the two dismissals.

Hardik’s record knock:

2 – Hardik Pandya struck four maximums during the 18th over bowled by Ankit Rajpoot. It was the second instance in the IPL for Hardik where he struck four sixes in an over. He is now only the 2nd player after Chris Gayle (5 times) to hit four or more sixes during an over in the IPL more than once.

3 – Hardik now has scored 25 and more runs during an over in the IPL on three occasions including twice during RR vs MI. Chris Gayle (7 times) is the only other player to have scored 25+ runs during an over in the IPL more than two times.

Rajpoot’s tough game with the ball:

60 – The 60 runs conceded during RR vs MI by Ankit Rajpoot are the most conceded by any Rajasthan Royals’ bowler in an IPL match. The previous most was 59 runs by Siddharth Trivedi against Kings XI Punjab in the 2011 edition.

The highest stand for Royals:

152* – The unbeaten 152-run stand between Ben Stokes and Sanju Samson is now the Rajasthan Royals’ highest partnership for any wicket in the IPL. Their previous biggest stand in the IPL was 144 by Ajinkya Rahane and Shane Watson for the first wicket in 2015 against Chennai Super Kings.

152* – The partnership of 152* by Stokes-Samson pair is also the 2nd highest for the 3rd or a lower wicket by any pair in the history of IPL. Cameron White and Kumar Sangakkara added 157 against Pune Warriors India for the 3rd wicket in the 2012 edition while Murali Vijay and Albie Morkel also added 152 for the 3rd wicket against RR during the 2010 season.

Pollard’s milestone catch:

300 – The catch to dismiss Robin Uthappa during RR vs MI was Kieron Pollard’s 300th catch in Twenty20 cricket making him the first player to complete 300 T20 catches. It was also exactly the 100th catch in the Twenty20 format of Pollard for Mumbai Indians (90 in IPL and 10 in CLT20).