New Delhi, April 8 (IANS) Former Indian spinner Piyush Chawla believes that the five-time champions Mumbai Indians (MI) were already behind in the game from the start of their chase against Rajasthan Royals (RCB) in their third match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 played at the Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati on Tuesday as they lost early wickets which increased the pressure.

Mumbai Indians had a poor start, losing three important wickets in just the first three overs while chasing 151 runs in an 11-over rain-affected match. Chawla said that the early blows made the chase very difficult.

“Rajasthan Royals looked ready from the start, especially in the Powerplay. Their batting gave them a strong start. With the ball, Jofra Archer bowled really well, and Nandre Burger picked up key wickets. When you are chasing 150 in 11 overs and lose three wickets for around 20 runs, it becomes very hard. Mumbai Indians were already behind in the first few overs,” Chawla told Jio Hotstar.

He also praised Yashasvi Jaiswal for his unbeaten 77 runs, which gave Rajasthan a strong start.

“Sometimes a player feels very confident against a certain team. Jaiswal looked comfortable from the beginning and played with confidence. Scoring 77 runs in an 11-over match shows how impactful he was,” he added.

Chawla also appreciated 15-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi for his fearless batting against a strong Mumbai bowling attack.

“Playing well against the Mumbai Indians is always special because they have top bowlers like Trent Boult and Jasprit Bumrah. When a young player performs like that, it gets everyone’s attention,” he said.

Speaking of the match, RR rode on an explosive 80-run opening stand between Yashasvi and Sooryavanshi to beat MI by 27 runs in a rain-curtailed match at the ACA Stadium in Guwahati on Tuesday and registered their third straight victory of the IPL 2026 campaign.

–IANS

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