IPL 2021, MI v RCB: 3 turning points of the match

Widely billed as a contest between the Indian captain and limited-overs vice-captain, the 2021 Indian Premier League (IPL) season opener saw some unexpected names make their mark.

Chris Lynn played his first game for the Mumbai Indians (MI) and scored a crucial 49. For the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), Harshal Patel mixed them up perfectly to notch up the first 5-wicket haul ever recorded against MI.

On a slowish Chepauk pitch, which played well while also supporting the slower deliveries, RCB's spinners were taken to the cleaners while their pacers bowled commendably well. MI's famed trio of Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya and Kieron Pollard were unable to force the pace, while RCB ace spinner Yuzvendra Chahal continued his torrid run of form.

Given the way last season went, some would have expected MI to stomp over RCB. However, fitting for a season opener, there were several intriguing twists in the tale. Ultimately, RCB prevailed after a stunning assault by AB de Villiers.

Here are the top three turning points from the MI v RCB game.

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#3 MI's Chris Lynn falls for 49

Chris Lynn looked positive in a rare opportunity at the top for MI.

Playing his first game for MI after warming the bench all of last season, Chris Lynn nearly got out twice in his first seven balls. However, he settled in and began to take toll of RCB's spinners, clearing the fence on three occasions.

Just when it appeared he was getting set for a big score, he started slowing down against the spin of Washington Sundar. One short of a deserved fifty, Lynn chipped one in the air for Sundar to run back and complete a fine catch. The wicket robbed MI of momentum, as the batsmen to come in did not quite strike the ball as well as Lynn did on occasion.

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#2 RCB's Harshal Patel nails the final over

Unexpected hero Harshal Patel ensured MI were restricted to a moderate total.

With Krunal Pandya and Kieron Pollard at the crease, MI would have hoped for their score of 158 to inflate to 170 or above. That it went up by merely one run for the cost of four wickets demonstrates the mastery of Harshal Patel, who picked up five wickets and nearly pocketed a hat-trick as well on the night.

Primarily bowling a bag of slower balls, Harshal got both Krunal and Pollard to hole out in the deep as they couldn't quite find their timing throughout their innings. To IPL debutant Marco Jansen, Harshal bowled two fine inswingers, the second of which knocked over the off pole.

The final two balls were negotiated by Jasprit Bumrah for just one run, as Rahul Chahar ran himself out pushing for a non-existent extra run.

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#1 MI's middle-overs double-strike, courtesy Jansen

Jansen thrived in his debut game after a difficult initiation.

Glenn Maxwell showed a marked return to IPL form - scoring more than a third of his IPL 2020 runs tally in a single innings - but fell short of placing RCB into a position of comfort.

While he struck the ball well, it was a smart slower bouncer from rookie Marco Jansen that saw Maxwell playing the ball into Chris Lynn's hands at short fine-leg.

Just when Kohli's men were looking to rebuild, all-rounder Shahbaz Ahmed was scalped as well trying to clear the field. Top-edging the ball, Ahmed could only hole out in the deep as Jansen went from a liability to a star for MI in hardly any time.

Though RCB still had AB de Villiers and Dan Christian to bat, half their side was back in the hut and the asking rate had shot up above 10.