#OTD in 2014 | Mumbai Indians qualify into the playoffs by chasing 190 in 15th over

On this day, Mumbai Indians (MI) achieved the improbable qualification to the playoffs by scoring 190 runs in 14.4 overs and winning the game against Rajasthan Royals (RR) by five wickets. 

MI had six wins in 13 league matches ahead of this fixture and needed a big win to qualify for the playoffs. If this happened, it would ouster RR from the fourth spot, who already had seven wins. 

Royals were invited to bat first and were off to a fine start, with Sanju Samson providing early acceleration. But the experienced Shane Watson (8) stuttered, and Harbajan Singh provided the first breakthrough for Mumbai with a brilliant diving catch by Kieron Pollard in the long-on boundary. 

After that, it was some confident shots played around by Samson and Karun Nair to steer the team at a sublime rate. Finally, both the batters completed their half-centuries, and the team passed the score of 100 in the 13th over. 

The partnership of 100 off 57 balls was put to an end with Nair (50) getting holed out to Simmons off Jasprit Bumrah in the 15th over. In the subsequent over delivered by Shreyas Gopal, Samson (74) tried to play an inside-out but was caught by Singh at the point. 

The boundary capabilities of James Faulkner (23) and Brad Hodge (29) came in handy for RR, as they posted a score of 189 on the board. 

In reply, opener Lendl Simmons (12) hit three glorious boundaries but mistimed a good-length ball of Dhawal Kulkarni, which Faulkner caught at mid-on.

The all-rounder Corey Anderson was promoted up the order to chase down the total in a quick manner, and he started his innings with a boundary and a six. 

The Aussie batter Michael Hussey (22) was timing it beautifully before he was clean bowled by Kevon Cooper. But, after that, the key players like Rohit Sharma and Kieron Pollard could not provide enough contributions. 

Ambati Rayudu came at the crease to support the team’s cause, with Anderson striking boundaries in a consistent manner. 

After the completion of the 14th over, MI needed nine off 3 for the qualification. In the first ball, Anderson took a single. The subsequent ball witnessed Rayudu hitting a six on the full toss of Faulkner. 

Unfortunately, Rayudu (30) was run-out in the third ball of the over. But, just as when it was thought MI were out for the playoffs, it was signalled that if Mumbai could manage to hit a boundary in the next delivery, they would attain the qualification. 

Youngster Aditya Tare came at the crease and hit a terrific maximum over the backward square leg boundary, which sent the entire MI team and crowds in jubilation.