India batting legend Sunil Gavaskar jokingly asked Yashasvi Jaiswal to spare Mumbai Indians after the Rajasthan Royals opener hammered an unbeaten ton in his team’s dominating win in the ongoing IPL 2024.
Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya had won the toss and decided to bat first in Jaipur and his team managed 179/9 in 20 overs. Tilak Varma starred with a 65-run knock, while Nehal Wadhera made 49 runs, with the duo adding 99 runs.
In response, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Jos Buttler added 74 runs in 8 overs, before Buttler was dismissed for 35 runs. But Jaiswal and captain Sanju Samson continued the assault as RR won by 9 wickets in 18.4 overs. Samson made 38*, while Jaiswal made 104* with 7 sixes and 9 fours to his name.
Incidentally, both of Jaiswal's hundreds have come against MI – he hit 124 off 62 balls last year to go with 104 not out off 60 balls yesterday.
After the match, as Jaiswal was interviewed for his heroic innings, Sunil Gavaskar asked the batter a question that would have been playing on the minds of every Mumbaikar.
Gavaskar couldn't help but ask him what is it about the Mumbai Indians that brings the best out of him every time, despite Jaiswal playing for Mumbai in domestic cricket.
Here is how the conversation panned out:
Gavaskar: "Yashasvi! Sunil here. This is your second century against the Mumbai Indians. And you're a Mumbai boy. What is it that is making you score these hundreds against them? Can't you score these hundreds against others?"
Jaiswal: "Nothing. It's just that I think am trying to do what I do well. Some days are tough, some days are good. And I was just playing. That's all. I didn't have anything in my mind."
Here is the video:
Thanks to this comprehensive win Royals cemented their position at the top of the points table with 14 points from 7 wins in 8 games, while MI are still languishing at 7th with 6 points from eight matches.
