Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma believes his side had got a good score of 161 runs after Steven Smith won the toss and decided to bowl first. It was a difficult pitch as the ball was holding onto the pitch. The spinners were getting the assistance as the pitch was on the low side.

Meanwhile, Rajasthan Royals were up to the mark in the batting department. The hosts were able to get off to flying start when they got 75 runs in the first seven overs. Sanju Samson who got a chance to open the innings in the absence of Jos Buttler grabbed his chance with both hands.

IPL 2019, RR vs MI, Jaipur, Steven Smith, Riyan Parag — Smith played a captain’s knock at Jaipur. Photo Credit: BCCI/IPL.

Rohit Sharma gives credit to Rajasthan Royals’ quick start.

Samson was able to hit the ground running from the get-go as he scored a fine knock of 35 runs off just 19 balls. Rajasthan Royals new skipper Steven Smith also got off to a good start and carried forward the momentum with him. The right-hander scored a fine knock of 59 runs from 48 balls as he completed seventh IPL fifty.

Smith was well accompanied by the 17-year old teenager in Riyan Parag. The youngster was able to impress with the bat with a fine knock of 43 runs off just 29 balls before getting run-out.

Rohit Sharma said while talking after the match, “I thought it was a good score on that pitch, looking at how the pitch was playing in the first innings. And even in the second innings, when we started to bowl, it wasn’t the easiest”.

“160 I thought was a good score but once they got 60 runs in the first six overs, we knew that it was going to be difficult. We thought we could defend it with the kind of bowlers we have in our team. Unfortunately we couldn’t, they batted pretty well in the middle. They kept the tempo going and they never looked panic, which allowed them to play freely. You know we could not get the momentum towards us”.

Photo by: Rahul Gulati /SPORTZPICS for BCCI