Yashasvi Jaiswal slammed 124 off 62 balls against MI at the Wankhede Stadium.
After RR won the toss and opted to bat first, Jaiswal waged a lone battle, smashing 124 off 62 balls to propel the visitors to a mammoth 212/7 in 20 overs. His knock was laced with 16 fours and 8 sixes.
However, the southpaw’s whirlwind ton went in vain as MI chased down the target with six wickets in hand and three deliveries to spare thanks to onslaughts from Cameron Green (44 off 26), Suryakumar Yadav (55 off 29) and Tim David (45* off 14).
After the game, RR skipper Sanju Samson conceded that Tim David did 'special' things to take MI over the finishing line.
"In the time-out the way Surya was going, we were talking about fighting it out. David did something very special. It was kind of getting wet. It was not too wet and we were taking our time to wipe the ball. We had the experience of bowling in these conditions," Samson said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
Commenting on Jaiswal's century, Samson said he was not surprised at all as the left-hander was showing signs of getting a big one.
Even though the Royals ended up on the losing side, Yashasvi Jaiswal was deservingly adjudged the Player-of-the-Match.
"Unluckily, Jaiswal ended up on the wrong side but very happy for him personally. I was expecting something special from Jaiswal. He scored 70-odd in the last game we always thought it (hundred) is round the corner," Samson said.
The RR captain played down the narrow defeat, saying that Rajasthan have been playing good cricket.
"The way we have been playing either we have won or we have come close. Results do come here and there. We will keep focusing on the process. We will keep focus on the controllable. We will keep fighting hard," he concluded.
It was Rajasthan Royals’ fourth defeat in nine games this season. They will next face Gujarat Titans in Jaipur on May 5.