Vaibhav Suryavanshi (Image source: BCCI/IPL)
New Delhi: Deepak Chahar gave Mumbai Indians the breakthrough they desperately needed in their IPL 2026 match against Rajasthan Royals at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
Chahar took the biggest wicket of the match, dismissing Rajasthan Royals star Vaibhav Suryavanshi cheaply.Sooryavanshi was expected to come out with all guns blazing in the most important encounter between Rajasthan Royals but he failed miserably.
Chahar bowled a full-length delivery straight into the slot. Sooryavanshi fired a shot high but could only advance. Naman Dheer raced off and completed a brilliant catch at deep point to send Sooryavanshi back to the pavilion.The entire Wankhede crowd went berserk after Sooryavanshi’s dismissal. MI skipper Hardik Pandya burst into celebration, and everyone was smiling as he walked over to hug Chahar.Mumbai Indians won the toss and were elected to first place in their final league match of the season, a must-win match for Rajasthan Royals.
MI have rested veteran pacer Jasprit Bumrah, bringing Deepak Chahar into the starting XI. Rajasthan Royals made three changes, with skipper Riyan Parag, Nandre Burger and Ravindra Jadeja entering the side.
MI captain Hardik Pandya said the circumstances were the reason behind choosing to bowl first. “When we played in the afternoon, (the field) tends to get better in the afternoon,” Pandya said during the toss.“It looks like a good track. It’s tough. We’ll mostly play like this. Once the sun goes down, it gets a little better. I just want to go out there and give it our best. We’ve had a tough season,” he added.With Rajasthan Royals needing a win to secure the fourth spot in the playoffs, captain Parag said the team will give their all in the must-win competition as they trail Punjab Kings by one point.He said, “I would have done the same thing. It might be the last match of the season. We will play this way. All the preparations and energy we put into the tournament… we hope to take advantage of our opportunity and advance in the qualifiers. Instead of relying on someone else.”Playing with the eleventh squad:Rajasthan Royals: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Dhruv Gurriel (wk), Rayan Parag (c), Donovan Ferreira, Shubham Dubey, Dasun Shanaka, Jofra Atcher, Nander Berger, Yash Raj Poonja, Brijesh Sharma.Influential substitutes: Ravindra Jadeja, Sushant Mishra, Aman Rao Birala, Ravi Bishnoi, Tusshar Deshpande.Mumbai Indians: Ryan Rickleton (wk), Naman Dhir, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Will Jacks, Corbin Bush, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, AM Ghazanfar, Raghu Sharma.Influential substitutes: Rohit Sharma, Mayank Rawat, Robin Means, Krish Bhagat, Trent Boult.