NEW DELHI: Mumbai Indians appeared to lack intent and purpose in their 27-run defeat to Rajasthan Royals, said former India captain Anil Kumble as he lauded young swashbuckler Vaibhav Sooryavanshi for his "brilliant" offensive against pace ace Jasprit Bumrah in an IPL clash in Guwahati.
RR cruised to the comfortable win over Hardik Pandya's Mumbai Indians, powered by Yashasvi Jaiswal's scintillating unbeaten 77 and Sooryavanshi's 14-ball blitzkrieg of 39.
Their performance set the tone for a 150-run total in the rain-shortened, 11-overs-a-side contest. Mumbai Indians fell well short, restricted to 123 for 9, with their entire top order failing to make an impact.
This was Rajasthan Royals' third consecutive win, while MI endured their second loss in three matches.
"It felt like the Mumbai Indians lacked a bit of purpose and intent with the ball, and that certainly spilled over into the batting. It was always going to be a big task to score 151 in 11 overs," said Kumble on 'JioStar'.
Kumble was amazed by how Sooryavanshi confidently took on a bowler of Bumrah's calibre, smashing a six off the very first delivery he faced.
"Sooryavanshi makes it look easy against one of the world's best bowlers. First ball, he hits him (Bumrah) for a six and then sets him up. He set the bowler up, not the other way around.
"We've generally seen Bumrah set up batters so many times, but here, Sooryavanshi set Bumrah up to bowl that slower ball on the third delivery, and he was waiting for it to hit him for another six.
"It was brilliant batting by Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, just the way he strikes the ball and the consistency he has shown in terms of strike-rate. He is striking at close to 300 in every game and scoring more than 30 runs consistently, which is outstanding," added Kumble.
He also praised the intensity shown by Rajasthan Royals' bowlers, noting their raw pace, relentless aggression, and ability to consistently trouble the opposition.
"The way the Rajasthan Royals bowlers came in, you could see the intent. They wanted to hit the deck hard. They have pace, both the opening fast bowlers, and they also took the pace off effectively," he said.
"It wasn't full like how Deepak Chahar bowled, it was more about hitting the deck. Sandeep Sharma once again proved what a reliable fast bowler he is, becoming a nemesis for Rohit Sharma yet again."
Former South African cricketer Faf du Plessis summed up RR's performance, saying they outperformed MI in every department of the game.
"It was a great effort by the Rajasthan Royals. They didn't miss a beat. I thought they were superior to MI in all three departments.
"The way they came in and hit their lengths was beautiful to watch, and who can forget that opening partnership? The two youngsters at the top are really taking this IPL by storm," said Du Plessis.
