MUMBAI, May 24 (Reuters) - Rajasthan Royals sealed the final Indian Premier League playoff spot with a commanding 30-run victory over Mumbai Indians on Sunday after Jofra Archer turned match-winner with both bat and ball.
The English fast bowler's explosive cameo of 32 off just 15 balls, which included three sixes, helped rescue Rajasthan from early trouble before his devastating bowling spell dismantled Mumbai's chase.
Mumbai won the toss and elected to field, a decision that initially looked shrewd when Rajasthan stumbled to 33-2 with openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi back in the pavilion.
But Dhruv Jurel (38) steadied the ship before Archer's fireworks propelled the visitors to a challenging total of 205-8.
Archer then switched roles to devastating effect, dismissing veteran Mumbai opener Rohit Sharma for a duck in the very first over before bowling Naman Dhir in his next over to leave the hosts reeling at 18-2.
The fast bowler then dismissed skipper Hardik Pandya (34) to finish with figures of 3-17. Despite a fighting knock of 60 from Suryakumar Yadav, Mumbai could only muster 175-9 in their 20 overs.
"I don't think it's my best year, I have bowled a little bit better than this," Archer said after he was named player of the match.
"Every time you take the ball, you just try to bowl in good areas. Some days you're not going to get rewarded, happy that we got rewarded on the day we needed to win.
"I wasn't expecting to bat so early. Because of the impact sub, I hardly get to bat. When the coach said, 'Put the pads on,' I was surprised. I'm glad I was able to contribute. I class myself an all-rounder."
The victory means reigning champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Gujarat Titans, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan advance to the playoffs.
Bengaluru will play Gujarat in Qualifier 1 on Tuesday while Hyderabad face Rajasthan in the eliminator a day later.
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
