In the first half of Tuesday (April 7, 2026) evening, the Barsapara Stadium here witnessed rain, at varying intensities.

The latter part saw a different sort of downpour — a hailstorm of boundaries from the blades of Rajasthan Royals openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and Vaibhav Suryavanshi.

The left-handed duo’s batting masterclass swept away a dazed Mumbai Indians side as Royals sailed to a 27-run win in a truncated IPL 2026 match. A third successive triumph lifted the Rajasthan outfit to the top of the standings, while it was a second defeat on the trot for MI.

Earlier, an intense afternoon thunderstorm, followed by on-and-off drizzle, had threatened to nip the game in the bud. But the rain relented around 9 p.m., allowing the ground staff to salvage a 11-over shootout, which proved to be as enthralling as a full-fledged game.

Bishnoi was one of the best bowlers on show.
| Photo Credit:
RITU RAJ KONWAR

After MI skipper Hardik Pandya opted to field, Jaiswal lit the fuse for the batting carnival with a stunning first-over takedown of Deepak Chahar that yielded 22 runs

At the other end, Suryavanshi showed no signs of nerves in his much-hyped face-off with Jasprit Bumrah. In fact, the 15-year-old welcomed the MI pacer with a six — a sure-footed whip over long on. He backed it up by getting inside the line and pulling Bumrah over square-leg for another maximum.

Jaiswal and Suryavanshi were on a single-minded offensive charge, taking on all MI bowlers alike and depositing them to all parts of the ground.

When Shardul Thakur removed Suryavanshi, caught at deep extra cover, the Royals openers had already racked up 80 from just five overs.

Jaiswal, though, continued with his flamboyant shot-making ways to bring up his second consecutive half-century as Royals rocketed to 150 for three.

The run-rate pressure didn’t take too long to impair MI’s response — the visiting side lost a wicket each in its first three overs.

Leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi’s two-wicket burst in the fifth over effectively shut the door for Hardik’s men as the contest soon wound up in Royals’ favour.