IPL 2021: 3 takeaways from MI's bowling against RCB

The Mumbai Indians (MI) had their task cut out defending a total of 159 in the first game of the 2021 Indian Premier League (IPL).

The Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), helped from unexpected quarters by an excellent five-for from Harshal Patel, successfully held back MI and their usual big-hitters on a pitch where the ball stayed low and occasionally gripped.

While the RCB spinners threw away the advantage presented by the conditions, as both Shahbaz Ahmed and Yuzvendra Chahal were punished by the defending champions, it was intriguing to see if their MI counterparts in Krunal Pandya and Rahul Chahar would do the same.

Here are three takeaways from MI's bowling against RCB in the first game of IPL 2021.

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#3 Finding the right length reaps rewards

Krunal Pandya bowled economically initially by keeping the length up.

Young South African bowler Marco Jansen's torrid introduction to the big league went from bad to worse, as he was put away by Virat Kohli in his first over.

Bowling on the shorter side, Jansen conceded a boundary off a free hit, where he was hoisted towards fine-leg, and off the first ball of his IPL debut, which was pulled through square leg. He did come back well in his second over to avoid conceding any boundaries, although he lost some rhythm and conceded wides.

At the other end, the experience of Trent Boult created an early opportunity that was shelled at second slip, and the tight length of Jasprit Bumrah kept a lid on the scoring. It made a marked difference in the way the RCB batsmen scored against the pacers, as they cashed in on the loose balls alone.

The spinners too learnt this, particularly against a reinvigorated Glenn Maxwell. Too full, and they were hit out of the park; too short, and they were reverse-hoicked to the off-side boundary. The in-between length bowled by Krunal Pandya successfully saw the back of Washington Sundar.

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#2 Attacking bowlers crucial in middle stages for MI

Jasprit Bumrah needs middle-overs support from an attacking pace bowling option.

The disciplined yet somewhat unthreatening bowling by MI in the phase between the powerplay and the dismissal of Kohli in the 13th over saw a steady 50-run partnership develop between the RCB skipper and Maxwell.

Given Maxwell's ability to play unorthodox cricket, and his success at lofting the ball over the infield, created problems for MI which are unlikely to be unique to RCB in this competition.

If the team plans to consistently use Jasprit Bumrah as a strike bowler, they need an attacking bowler to operate in this phase and make the batsmen take risks. They have the likes of Hardik Pandya, who can perform that attacking role with his bouncers and variations.

Young Marco Jansen came back remarkably after Kohli's dismissal, although his earlier inefficacy highlighted a problem area for MI when defending moderate totals.

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#1 Rahul Chahar no longer irreplaceable

Rahul Chahar endured a very ordinary outing with the ball.

Despite his key role in MI's title-winning campaign last season, Rahul Chahar had an extremely ordinary outing (in his defence, so did his counterpart and India international Yuzvendra Chahal).

Coming under attack from an aggressive Glenn Maxwell, Chahar often bowled too full on a pitch offering subtle turn most times and big turn on occasion. His most crucial failing came right after the Jansen double strike in the 15th over, as AB de Villiers hit him for two boundaries in a 15-run over.

MI have made the budget acquisition of Piyush Chawla - one of the IPL's veterans - and Chahar ought to step up if he wants to retain his place.