The in-form Mumbai Indians took on the struggling Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 38th match of the season at the Wankhede Stadium. The venue has a history of producing close encounters and this one turned out to be no different.
The visitors opted to bat first after calling the right side of the coin but suffered early damage. AB de Villiers looked in fine form when he strode out to the crease but lost his wicket just when he began to look threatening. Kedar Jadhav and Pawan Negi played decent knocks during the slog overs and took RCB to a competitive 162/8.
Mumbai’s chase was rocked early when they lost a wicket off the first ball. But contributions from Buttler, Rana and Rohit ensured they crossed the finish line without too many hiccups. MI won the match by five wickets and moved to the top spot on the points table.
Extra Cover: IPL 2017: Krunal Pandya claims AB de Villiers for the fourth time; sends him back with a cheeky gesture
Here is the report card of the players from both sides:
Royal Challengers Bangalore
Virat Kohli – 4.5/10
The skipper opposed the trend and decided to bat first after winning the toss. He looked to be aggressive from the start and slammed Karn Sharma and then Jasprit Bumrah for sixes but lost his wicket to Mitchell McClenaghan in the 6th over for 20 off 14 balls.
Mandeep Singh – 4/10
Opening the batting, Mandeep looked in fine touch and struck the first ball he faced for a boundary. He hit two more fours before holing out to the fielder at deep mid-wicket off the bowling of Karn Sharma. He scored 17 off 13 balls and was the first wicket to fall in the innings.
Travis Head – 4/10
Head found himself batting at 3 and initially playing second fiddle to de Villiers at the other end. But when he tried to break the shackles, he was caught on the boundary for 12 off 15 balls.
AB de Villiers – 7/10
The South African batsman was in ominous touch and it looked as if he was going to produce another special at the Wankhede. But after scoring 43 off 27 balls, he tried to go big and lost his wicket to Krunal Pandya. He got a start and should have gone on to make a big one.
Shane Watson – 5/10
The Australian was included in the XI but he disappointed with the bat and departed after scoring just 3 off 5 balls. With the ball, he had a decent spell of 28/1.
Kedar Jadhav – 6/10
The right-hander arrived at the crease in the 11th over and witnessed the departures of de Villiers and Watson. He then steadied the ship along with Negi and added 54 runs for the 6th wicket. Jadhav made 28 off 22 balls and fell in the final over of the RCB innings.
Pawan Negi – 9/10
Negi walked into bat in the 14th over when the team was tottering at 108/5. But he played a good hand at number 7 and scored 35 off 23 balls with a boundary and 3 sixes that propelled RCB to a competitive total. He then followed it up with a great spell of bowling and bagged figures of 17/2 in 4 overs that included the wickets of Buttler and Rana.
Sreenath Aravind – 3.5/10
Initially, Aravind was run out without facing a single delivery. With the ball too, he couldn’t contribute much and went for 10 runs in his first over. In the second over, he conceded 11 runs and ended with figures of 21/0 in 2 overs.
Adam Milne – 3/10
The pacer had a terrible evening in Mumbai and was taken to the cleaners by the batsmen. In his first over, he was smashed for 3 fours by Buttler and when he came back for his second over, he conceded 2 more boundaries. He ended with costly figures of 29/0 in 2 overs and wasn’t called back to bowl any more overs.
Aniket Choudhary – 6.5/10
The youngster was called back into the XI after a long time and started off on a great note by picking up the wicket of Parthiv off the very first ball he bowled. But after that, he didn’t find any further success and ended with figures of 32/1 from 4 overs.
Yuzvendra Chahal – 6/10
Kohli brought Chahal into the attack in the second over in search of early wickets. But he was hit for 2 fours by Rana and then for a six in his next over. While he did take a beating, he managed to pick up the big wicket of Pollard and finished with figures of 36/1.
Mumbai Indians
Parthiv Patel – 2/10
Chasing 162 to win, Mumbai got off to the worst possible start. The opener went for a pull shot off the very first ball of the innings that landed straight in the hands of the fielder at short mid-wicket.
Jos Buttler – 6.5/10
The early loss of Parthiv meant that the other opener Buttler had to rebuild the innings, however, he played a quickfire knock of 33 off 21 balls with 4 fours and a six. He looked in ominous touch but lost his wicket to Negi in the 8th over.
Nitish Rana – 6/10
The left-hander has been in tremendous form this season and once more batted at the number 3 slot. He shared a stand of 61 with Buttler but somehow couldn’t manage to up the ante. He departed in the 10th over after scoring 27 off 28 balls with 4 boundaries.
Rohit Sharma – 9/10
The skipper arrived at the crease in the 8th over with a handful of runs required. He played a steady knock and was unflustered by the wickets that fell at the other end. He remained unbeaten at 56 off 37 balls that included 5 fours and a six. The right-hander led from the front and hit the winning runs for his side.
Kieron Pollard – 5/10
The West Indian came to bat when the team was struggling at 70/3 in the 10th over. Initially, he took time to get his eye in and then tried to go on the attack. He struck 2 boundaries in his innings of 17 off 13 balls but was removed in the 13th over by Chahal.
Krunal Pandya – 7.5/10
The left-arm spinner had an added responsibility on his shoulders in the absence of Harbhajan Singh and he served the team beautifully. He first removed Travis Head in the 11th over and then dismissed the big fish de Villiers in his last over to end with figures of 34/2 in 4 overs. He had to walk off the field after making 2 runs with the bat after experiencing some discomfort.
Hardik Pandya – 6/10
He bowled just the one over during RCB’s innings and gave away 5 runs without a wicket. While batting, he came out when 32 runs were required from 21 balls. Hardik played a nice hand for his captain with 14 off 9 balls and stayed until the end to see his side past the line.
Karn Sharma – 6.5/10
The leg-spinner was introduced into the attack inside the powerplay and was launched into the stands by Kohli off just the second ball. But he made a great comeback and removed Mandeep Singh two balls later. He ended with figures of 23/1 in 3 overs and then batted at number 7 where he managed 9 runs off 8 balls.
Mitchell McClenaghan – 8/10
The leading wicket-taker for Mumbai Indians once again came to the fore and bagged 3 wickets. First, he claimed the prized scalp of Kohli in the 6th over and then came back in the last over of the innings to remove Negi and Jadhav off consecutive deliveries to end with figures of 34/3 in 4 overs.
Jasprit Bumrah – 6/10
The hero from the previous game, Bumrah was flicked for a six in his first over by Kohli. But he made a terrific return and castled Watson in the 14th over. He was taken for 10 runs in each of his last 2 overs that put a dent in his figures in the end.
Lasith Malinga – 5/10
The Sri Lankan hasn’t found his best form so far in the league and injuries haven’t helped his cause. In his first 3 overs, he gave away 16 runs but was taken for 16 in his last over that included two sixes from Negi. He ended with figures of 31/0 and once again, remained wicketless.
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