Mumbai: Suryakumar Yadav’s stunning 35-ball 83 and Nehal Wadhera’s unbeaten 52 handed Mumbai Indians (MI) a comprehensive six-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Tuesday. The victory lifted MI to the third spot in the points table, as the five-time champions now have 12 points from 11 games. RCB slipped to the seventh spot with 10 points from 11 matches.
A fourth century stand of the season between Faf du Plessis (65 off 41) and Glenn Maxwell (68 off 33) took RCB to 199/6 after MI put them in to bat. Chasing 200, MI maintained their impeccable record of not losing to RCB at the Wankhede Stadium since IPL 2015, racing to victory in 16.3 overs. Suryakumar struck six sixes and seven fours in his sensational effort while adding 140 runs for the third wicket off only 66 balls with Wadhera.Promoted at No 4, Wadhera, who was dropped on 16 by Wanindu Hasaranga (2/53), went on to raise his second fifty of the season. The left-handed batter struck four fours and three sixes in his 34-ball knock.
After their bowlers sparked a comeback of sorts in the first half of the game, MI never looked under any pressure with their reshuffled batting order clicking together, despite Rohit Sharma’s ordinary run continuing. The MI captain was dismissed for only seven, but a brisk start provided by Ishan Kishan (42) and a sturdy stand for the third wicket shut RCB out of the game. RCB were cruising towards a big total at one stage when MI fought back to apply the brakes, and the visitors’ failure to put on even 200 came back to hurt them.
Hasaranga struck twice inside the fifth over to halt MI’s charge, getting Kishan caught behind after a rapid 21-ball 42 and Rohit (7), as MI ended Powerplay at 62/2. Kishan hit four sixes and as many fours, contributing heavily in his 51-run opening stand with Rohit, who was dismissed for a fifth consecutive single-digit score. Suryakumar completed his fourth fifty of the season and third at the Wankhede, off only 26 balls.
Earlier, RCB were rocked early by Jason Behrendorff (4-0-36-3) who struck twice in the Powerplay, before du Plessis (65 off 41) and Maxwell (68 off 33) teamed up to expose MI’s bowling troubles once again while making the most of the perfect batting conditions. Du Plessis and Maxwell added 120 runs for the fourth wicket off just 62 balls, leading RCB’s charge after Virat Kohli (1) and Anuj Rawat (6) fell early. Maxwell was in his element as he played some outstanding strokes, hitting four sixes and eight fours to record his fourth half-century this season.
On the other hand, du Plessis, dropped by Wadhera in the first over when he was yet to open his account, was equally impressive with his strokeplay, attacking the fast bowlers and spinners alike to get to his sixth half-century. Du Plessis also extended his lead at the top of the list for the highest run-getters this year, reaching 576 runs in 11 matches at an average of 64. But to their credit, MI fought back in the second half to dismiss Maxwell, Mahipal Lomror (1) and du Plessis in quick succession. MI did well to allow only 68 runs in the last seven overs, putting up a far improved performance with the ball. RCB slipped from 131/2 after 13 overs to 146/5 in the 15th before Dinesh Karthik (30 off 18 balls) did well to end his ordinary run with the bat.