Today’s defeat to the Mumbai Indians has virtually drawn curtains on Royal Challengers Bangalore’s season.
After winning the toss and batting first, the Royal Challengers managed 162 after good batting displays from AB de Villiers and Pawan Negi. Chasing the total down, the Mumbai Indians suffered an early shock as Parthiv Patel was dismissed off the very first ball, but captain Rohit Sharma expertly guided them to victory.
Here are 5 memorable moments from the match that don't fade away, quite like the Axe Signature range of body perfumes:
#1 AB de Villiers is back
One of the things that most people look forward to before a Royal Challengers Bangalore game is AB de Villiers’ rampant batting. It won’t be a stretch to claim that when he gets going, there is no bowler in the world who can actually stop him.
We are yet to see the best of the South African in this year’s Indian Premier League. This match, however, showed some glimpses of it. In his innings of 27 balls, he scored 43 runs while smashing 3 boundaries and as many sixes to provide the Royal Challengers with a platform to establish a good score.
#2 Negi’s all-round onslaught
Bangalore’s batting form has been at its worst in this year’s IPL. Their superstar batsmen haven’t really clicked, but in today’s match, Pawan Negi ensured that the team didn’t suffer because of it.
The air oozed the aura of implosion after the dismissals of AB de Villiers and Shane Watson in quick succession. However, Negi took control of the game and coasted the RCB innings to a respectable 162, making a timely 35 off 23 balls.
His contribution, however, wasn’t done just yet. With the ball, he finished his 4 overs by giving away just 17 runs and taking 2 wickets in the process.
#3 McClenaghan’s fury
There are some bowlers in the world that leak a lot of runs in their spells, but still successfully take wickets in the process. Mitchell McClenaghan is among those bowlers. The Kiwi pacer bowls at express pace, which makes him susceptible to conceding runs, but his pace is what makes him a feared bowler.
The story of his game is basically the story of his career. In his 4 overs, he bled 38 runs, but took 3 very important wickets of Virat Kohli, Kedhar Jadhav, and Pawan Negi that restricted the total to 162.
#4 Jos Buttler gives MI a good start
The English players haven’t been able to stamp their authority this IPL so far, except, of course, for Jos Buttler. The wicketkeeper-batsman has been in good form this year and he once again gave his team a good start to help with the chase.
163 is a tricky target to chase on any pitch because the batsmen may not be sure whether to go gung-ho from the start or be cautious. However, Buttler played his natural game and scored a quick 33 off just 21 balls, giving his team the start they needed.
#5 Rohit Sharma plays a captain’s knock
Rohit Sharma’s form in this year’s Indian Premier League has been inconsistent, to say the least. The IPL is generally Rohit Sharma’s favourite hunting ground, but he has been hunted down instead this season. But that was not the case today.
The Mumbai Indians captain played a fine role to coast his team to victory with an extremely well-paced 56 off just 37 balls. His innings was special given the fact that he was there till the end and ensured his team reached the top of the table once again.
Brand-new app in a brand-new avatar! Download CricRocket for fast cricket scores, rocket flicks, super notifications and much more! 🚀☄️
