IPL 2018, MI vs RCB: 5 talking points from the match

Mumbai Indians finally registered their first win of the tournament by defeating the Royal Challengers Bangalore by 47 runs at Mumbai. The three-time champs were off to a disastrous start as they lost both their openers without a single run on the board. However, Rohit Sharma’s 94 and Evin Lewis’ 65 powered them to 213/6 in their 20 overs.

In reply, RCB started well but following Quinton de Kock’s dismissal, none of the other batsmen except Kohli clicked. Kohli batted brilliantly, scoring 92 from 62 deliveries. His innings helped RCB reach 167.

MI’s first win has taken them two spots above to 6th place while RCB have slipped to 7th position just above Delhi Daredevils.

Here are five talking points from the match.

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#5 Evin Lewis’ gradual rise throughout the tournament so far

This is Evin Lewis’ first ever IPL and he began the tournament with a duck in the opener against Chennai Super Kings at Mumbai. He followed it with a swift 29 from 17 balls against Sunrisers Hyderabad at Hyderabad which was incidentally, Mumbai Indians’ highest individual score with the bat.

The 26-year old then smashed a 28-ball 48 against Rajasthan Royals at Jaipur which helped give his team a flying start. Tonight, Lewis was absolutely phenomenal with the bat as he scored a brilliant 65 from 42 deliveries. What was even more special about the knock was that it came under pressure with MI having lost two wickets without a single run on the board.

Lewis added 108 runs for the third wicket with skipper Rohit Sharma which helped Mumbai Indians recover following their disastrous start. The partnership between Lewis and Rohit is also the second-highest 3rd wicket partnership for MI.

#4 AB de Villiers chokes again

De Villiers scored just 1 tonight

AB de Villiers had a pretty strong start to his IPL by scoring a 23-ball 44 against Kolkata Knight Riders followed by a match-winning inning of 57 from 40 deliveries against Kings XI Punjab. However, his performance has dipped in RCB’s last two matches.

Against Rajasthan Royals, ABD could score only 20 despite being given two lifelines by Jos Buttler. Tonight, RCB needed De Villiers immensely as they had to chase down a mammoth 214 against Mumbai Indians. However, the South African messed up big time as he was dismissed for just 1. ABD pulled a Mitchell McClenaghan delivery straight towards deep midwicket where Hardik Pandya took a pretty routine catch.

De Villiers is someone who RCB have always relied on and having lost three of their first four games, the pressure has just elevated on ABD. Provided the former Proteas skipper continues to falter like this in the following 2-3 games then he may as well find himself on the dugout.

#3 Kohli being RCB’s silver lining

Kohli scored a brilliant 92

The Royal Challengers Bangalore fell short by a good 47 runs against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede tonight. The margin of defeat has had a significant impact on RCB as they have fallen to 7th in the table with only Delhi Daredevils below them.

However, their lone positive from an otherwise negative outing was their skipper Virat Kohli. Kohli played a magnificent knock of 92 from just 62 deliveries tonight. He single-handedly carried the RCB batting on his shoulders and took them to a respectable total.

The only flaw in Kohli’s innings was that he could not come up with the hard-hitting a little earlier in the innings. Kohli is currently the orange cap holder with 201 runs to his name, 23 runs above second-placed Sanju Samson. With the Royal Challengers in a pickle at the moment, they will need their skipper to produce many similar knocks in a winning cause in the forthcoming games.

#2 RCB’s season being a carbon copy of their 2017 campaign so far

RCB have won just 1 out of their first 4 games in the IPL so far

Last season, Royal Challengers Bangalore began their campaign with a defeat against Sunrisers Hyderabad before registering a win over Delhi Daredevils in their second game. They then went on to lose four matches in a row before winning their second match of the tournament in their 6th game.

This year, RCB’s campaign in their first four matches has emulated that of last year’s tournament. Following an opening defeat against KKR, the Royal Challengers defeated Kings XI Punjab before losing their next two matches against Rajasthan Royals and Mumbai Indians.

Barring Virat Kohli, none of their players performed today and except for Kohli, none of their players have been completely consistent. The three-time runners-up will have to regroup and work on their game plan or they might face another defeat against Delhi Daredevils on Saturday at Bangalore.

Whether RCB’s 5th match will see an outcome similar to their 5th match last year or not, only time will tell.

#1 Rohit Sharma roars back

The MI skipper was undoubtedly the star of the game

During last year’s IPL, Rohit Sharma had a horrendous start to his tournament before coming back with a couple of brilliant knocks. In this IPL, the Mumbai Indians’ skipper accumulated just 44 runs in his first three matches at a paltry average of 14.67.

However, Rohit came back in remarkable fashion today as he scored a magnificent 94 from just 52 deliveries. His innings resurrected Mumbai Indians’ batting after they were 0/2 at a point. He batted brilliantly tonight, smashing ten fours and five sixes and leaving the RCB bowlers clueless. The skipper’s knock powered MI to 213 which is their third highest IPL total.

The 30-year old was rightfully adjudged the Man of the Match for his knock and will be looking to score similar knocks in the matches to come. Watch out other franchises, the sleeping giant has woken up from his little power nap.