Mumbai Indians on Wednesday became the first IPL team to secure the place for the playoff stage after beating Royal Challengers Bangalore by five wickets. Suryakumar Yadav was declared Man Of The Match for his impressive knock of 79 not out that he faced 43 balls to score.
Batting first, Royal Challengers put up a total of 164-6 in 20 overs. Devdutt Padikkal was the team’s highest scorer with a knock of 74 in 45 balls. Together with Josh Philippe, he added 71 runs in the first 7.5 overs as the RCB looked destined to set a 200-plus target. But Phillipe’s departure caused a batting collapse for the RCB as neither skipper Virat Kohli nor AB de Villiers could showcase their batting prowess. While Kohli made 9, de Villiers returned to the dressing room by scoring just 15 runs.
Jasprit Bumrah played a key role in containing the RCB as he finished with 3-14 in four overs.
The run-chase by Mumbai Indians started on a cautious note. Both de Kock and Ishan Kishan got out by scoring 18 and 25 respectively. However, Suryakumar Yadav looked menacing in his intention as he began to hit the RCB bowlers all around the stadium. He single-handedly ensured that Mumbai Indians had no problem in securing an emphatic win with five balls to spare.
Reacting to his side’s defeat, Kohli said, “It was a strange phase of batting out there where everything we hit went straight to the fielders. They bowled good channels, and kept us 20 short of a par total. We still gave them a good fight. Tonight we thought the ball might swing early so we bowled Morris and Dale. Then we went to Washy. The game was tight, but I think they batted that phase well.”
Mumbai Indians’ stand-in captain, Kieron Pollard, said, “I am big on match-ups in a way. I also watch a lot of cricket. I took a punt and bowled at AB. I could have waited for the last over but if someone has to go for runs I thought I’d take it. Bumrah continues to keep standing up throughout the tournament. But again we have been playing total team cricket. Somebody is always there to pick up the slack. Imagine someone batting at that strike rate after two early wickets. Deep down inside he must be very very disappointed to not have donned the blue for India. He just keeps getting better. Again as an individual if you keep staying consistent, you will be rewarded. Nothing happens before its time. There is discussion around my batting position, I would love to be up there, taking the runs and hitting the runs, but we have to do what is the best for the team.”
