Mumbai Indians chase down 200-run target in 99 balls against Royal Challengers Bangalore
Mumbai Indians defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore by six wickets as they chased down a target of 200 runs in only 99 balls at the Wankhade Stadium on Tuesday. MI jumped five spots and currently sits in third position on the points table with 12 points.
The Mumbai-based franchise won the toss and elected to bowl first. The decision proved to be vital as former Indian skipper Virat Kohli walked back to the pavilion without making a huge dent on the scoreboard in the very first over off the bowling of Jason Behrendorff. The Australian bowler also managed to get rid of Anuj Rawat, who tried to play a scoop shot which he mistimed and was caught by Cameron Green behind the wicket.
Despite losing two early wickets, the team led by Faf du Plessis managed to score runs with a good run rate. The South African smashed Green, Behrendorff, and Piyush Chawla for a few boundaries, with the experienced spinner giving away 11 runs in the final over of the powerplay, allowing the team from Bangalore to put up 56 runs in the first six overs.
Chris Jordan was brought into the attack for his first game after he replaced the injured Jofra Archer. Sadly, his first game didn’t go to plan as he conceded 16 runs, including two maximums by Glenn Maxwell.
The game looked like it was slipping away from Rohit Sharma and co. as du Plessis and Maxwell steadied the ship and scored 104 runs by the 10-over mark. However, Behrendorff provided yet another breakthrough and got rid of Maxwell for 68 runs. Mahipal Lomror’s presence on the pitch was short-lived as he too departed after scoring just a single run.
The RCB skipper was the third batter to be dismissed in three overs as he was caught at fine-leg inside the ring while trying to scoop the ball over the wicket-keeper’s head ending up with 65 runs off 41 balls.
Rohit Sharma’s gamble to bowl Kumar Kartikeya in the 18th over didn’t go well as Dinesh Karthik hammered him for 17 runs before he was caught out while trying to play a pull shot against Jordan and looked in discomfort while walking back towards the pavilion. With some late impetus from Kedar Jadhav and Wanindu Hasaranga, RCB put 199 runs on the scoreboard.
However, the team coached by Mahela Jayawardene started off in extraordinary fashion. Rohit Sharma, who came to the pitch following two ducks, smashed Josh Hazelwood for a couple of boundaries in the second over. Then, Ishan Kishan took over and smashed a couple of maximums against Siraj in the third over as the scoreboard moved quickly and MI had managed to score 52 runs by the end of the fifth over.
Both openers had also returned to the pavilion courtesy of an amazing spell by Hasaranga who dismissed Kishan before trapping the opposition skipper leg before wicket.
At the end of 12 overs, MI had eight wickets in hand with 124 runs on the board suggesting that the match is still within their reach with Suryakumar Yadav and Nehal Wadhera still at the crease and the likes of Tim David and Green waiting in the dugout.
In the 13th over, Harshal Patel was smacked for 17 runs while he tried to bowl his dipping slower ball. Yadav also reached the 50-run mark for the fourth time in the last six games.
Suryakumar played departed back to the pavilion after a brilliant knock of 83 runs and couldn’t seal the game for MI. Tim David, too, departed soon after to a golden duck. However, Wadhera scored his second IPL half-century and got his side across the finish line, allowing Mumbai Indians to defeat Royal Challengers Bangalore by six wickets and manage just their sixth win of the tournament.
It is interesting to note that Rohit’s men chased down the target in just 99 balls, a statistic that looked like a pipe dream at one stage of the match, allowing the team to improve their net run rate.
Rohit’s men will now welcome the high-flying Gujarat Titans to the Wankhade Stadium on Friday whilst RCB will travel to Jaipur to face the Rajasthan Royals on Sunday afternoon.