Jofra Archer's all-round display of bowling a spell of 3/17, coupled with an explosive cameo of 32 off 15 balls with the bat was pivotal in helping Rajasthan Royals beat Mumbai Indians by 30 runs in their final league-stage game of 2026 Indian Premier League at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday.
The victory helped the Riyan Parag-led side become the fourth and final side to qualify for the playoffs.
Set a target of 206 to win, five-time champions Mumbai Indians were stopped at 175/9 in 20 overs. Vice-captain Suryakumar Yadav top-scored for Mumbai with a knock of 65 off 42 deliveries. Archer picked key wickets as he dismissed Rohit Sharma, Naman Dhir and MI skipper Hardik Pandya.
Earlier, RR posted 205/8 after a stuttering start. Early setbacks, including the quick dismissals of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Yashasvi Jaiswal, RR struggled in the middle overs. Riyan Parag and Dhruv Jurel got starts but failed to fully capitalize, while Dasun Shanaka smashed 29 off 15 before a run-out ended his cameo.
Jurel top-scored with 38 off 26 balls, but it was Archer and Ravindra Jadeja, who hit 19 off 11, that RR managed to get vital runs late in their innings that helped them push their score beyond 200.
The result has rendered the ongoing final league stage game between Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Capitals of no consequence.
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The four playoff teams
Rajasthan Royals along with Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Gujarat Titans and Sunrisers Hyderabad are the four teams that have qualified for the playoffs this season.
Table toppers and defending champions RCB will square-off against Gujarat Titans, who finished second, in the Qualifier-1 of the playoffs in Dharamshala on May 26. The winner of this game will secure a straight qualification into the final which will be played in Ahmedabad on May 31.
The Eliminator will then be played between RR and SRH on May 27 in New Chandigarh.
The losing side of Qualifier-1 will then take on the winner of the Eliminator to decide the second team that will contest the final.
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