Rohit Sharma points to wife Ritika after RR pacer Akash Madhwal folds hands, makes him sign jersey post MI's win
Akash Madhwal made his IPL debut for Mumbai Indians two years ago under Rohit Sharma's captaincy, but now he plays for another team, Rajasthan Royals.
The Rajasthan Royals line-up featured three former Mumbai Indians players, all bowlers - Akash Madhwal, Kumar Kartikeya and Jofra Archer. But more than the latter two, it was an emotional evening for Madhwal. It was for the Mumbai Indians two years back when he had made his IPL debut, with the season including the best-ever show by an uncapped Indian, where he finished with 5 for 5 against Lucknow Super Giants.
At the end of the game in Jaipur, where his current side, the Rajasthan Royals, lost by 100 runs, Madhwal greeted Rohit Sharma with folded hands. It was under the Mumbai legend's captaincy that Madhwal had made his debut. In a video that went viral on social media, Madhwal shared a small chat with Rohit on the sidelines of the post-match proceedings, before the 37-year-old pointed towards his wife, Ritika Sajdeh, in the stands and Madhwal repeated his gesture.
Akash, who was acquired for INR 1.2 crore by the Royals at the auction last November, made his only appearance in IPL 2025 in the match against Mumbai, where he went wicketless for 39 runs in four overs.
Mumbai Indians go top of table
Mumbai Indians continued their sensational run in IPL 2025, winning six straight matches that sent them to the top of the points table on Thursday. It marked a remarkable turnaround for the Hardik Pandya-led side, who had found themselves standing in the ninth spot in the table earlier last month, after just five games into the season.
Mumbai earned their seventh win with a 100-run victory against the Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur, which subsequently pushed the home side out of the race for playoffs.
Openers Rohit Sharma (53 off 36 balls) and Ryan Rickelton (61 off 38) struck sublime half-centuries before Suryakumar Yadav (48 not out off 23) and Hardik Pandya (48 not out off 23) went on the offensive to power Mumbai Indians to 217 for two.
In reply, Rajasthan, who had chased down 210 against the Gujarat Titans three nights back at the same venue, were bundled for 117 in 16.1 overs. It was their eighth defeat in 11 matches. Mumbai, meanwhile, stand a win away from securing their place in the playoffs.
