Jaipur (Rajasthan) [India], Apr 23 (NT): Rajasthan Royals' (RR) batsman Krishnappa Gowtham played a burning blow under pressure to win over current defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium here on Sunday.

The 29-year-old handed his team a nail-biting three-wicket victory with an unbeaten 33 of 11 balls, laced with 4 fours and 2 remarkable sixes.

Gowtham the all-rounder from Karnataka stunned the three-time Indian Premier League (IPL) champions MI in last 10 balls.

 RR needed 10 runs to win from the last over. MI bowler Hardik Pandya dismissed Royals' Jofra Archer in the first ball of the 19th over. However, Gowtham slammed a boundary and a six in the next three balls to offer stunning and a much-needed win to his 2008 champions team RR.

Earlier, Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to bat first. Opener Evan Lewis went to the pavilion for a golden duck in the very first over of the game by RR’s Dhawal Kulkarni, before Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav stranded 129-run partnership to keep the scoreboard jiffy for Mumbai.

Mumbai collapsed from 130 for 1 in 14.2 overs to rally only 167 for 7, as only 37 runs were scored in the last five overs.

MI Skipper Rohit Sharma also failed to miscalculate a run as he ran to out himself .

Archer bowled terrific Yorker deliveries to dismiss Hardik Pandya (4) and Mitchell McClenaghan (0) and dismissed Krunal Pandya (7). He finished with figures of 3 for 22. He was adjourned Man of the Match for his impressive show.

Kulkarni (2 for 32) and Jaydev Unadkat (1 for 31) were the other wicket-takers for RR.

Having target of 168, RR did not start perfectly as skipper Ajinkya Rahane (14) and his partner Rahul Tripathi (9) dismissed in the first six overs.

However Ben Stokes (40) and Sanju Samson (52) shared a vital 72-run partnership to support the 2008 champions RR returns in the game.

Stokes and Samson were active in running between the wickets and finding the gaps frequently.

With an amazing bowling Hardik broke the partnership along with Jasprit Bumrah (2 for 28). RR soon lost a cluster of wickets.

Casing 43 runs from 22 balls when Samson and wicketkeeper Jos Butler were departed, Gowtham played an entertaining knock to win Rajasthan in their six match. RR is now in the fifth position on the table.