Royal Challengers Bangalore v Mumbai Indians - Indian Premier League 5 – Match Recap – Mumbai Indians steal close 5-wicket victory
Using the Royal Challengers Bangalore as a stepping stone, the Mumbai Indians edged past the Kolkata Knight Riders to claim the second spot on the Indian Premier League 5 points table after defeating the Virat Kohli-led side by 5 wickets on May 14 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore.
The Mumbai Indians won and skipper Harbhajan Singh opted to field, saying the moisture in the air after a brief spell of rain, in addition to the dampness of the pitch, would aid the bowlers.
Chris Gayle and Tillakaratne Dilshan opened the innings for their side, but their partnership lasted just 8 runs, with the Jamaican batsman bowled out on 6 by Munaf Patel in the 3rd over.
Dilshan, however, went on to rack up an individual total of 47, though the remainder of the top five was not able to accompany him for any significant partnerships. Kohli was run out on 3, while Saurabh Tiwary, who had managed an unbeaten 36 against the Pune Warriors, failed to contribute more than 21 before he was adjudged hit wicket, having stepped onto his middle stump in an attempt to hit the ball through square leg.
The Challengers continued to lose their top batsmen as AB de Villiers was dismissed for 14 in the 12th over by Kieron Pollard, leaving the team at 87 for 4. It looked like the Mumbai Indians would have an easy target to chase, but youngster Mayank Agarwal emerged as his team’s saving grace, and went on to contribute an unbeaten 64 off 30, in addition to establishing a 46-run stand with Dilshan.
Their partnership got their side up to 133 by the 18th over, after which the Lankan batsman was sent back to the pavilion by RP Singh, while Vinay Kumar (1) was also dismissed in the very same over, run out while attempting to come back for a second.
21-year-old Agarwal, however, continued his belligerent innings till the end of the 20 overs, and finished off by hitting Munaf Patel for 24 in the last over, enabling his side to post a total of 171.
The Mumbai Indians’ innings got off to a shaky start, with a complete top order collapse. Sachin Tendulkar was dismissed in the very first over on duck by Zaheer Khan, and Herschelle Gibbs (2) followed in the very next over, run out while attempting a risky third run. The 4th over saw Rohit Sharma caught and bowled by Vinay Kumar at 5, and the Mumbai Indians found themselves at a precarious 19 for 3.
However, Ambati Rayudu saved the day for his side with a timely 81 off 54 (his first IPL half-century), and following the dismissals of wicketkeeper batsman Dinesh Karthik (16) and Dwayne Smith (6), was joined by Pollard (52) for a mammoth 122-run 6th wicket partnership. Their combined efforts got their team up to 158 for 5 by the end of the 19th over, with 14 runs required off the last 6 balls. Pollard, however, led his side to victory with 2 balls to spare, including a six and two fours off Gayle.
The Royal Challengers’ bowlers failed to do justice to the efforts of Agarwal, and were unable to break up the Rayudu-Pollard stand. Muttiah Muralitharan remained the most economical bowler, conceding just 16 in 4 overs at the expense of one wicket. KP Appanna was fairly expensive, giving away 19 in one over, while Gayle bled 39 in 2.4 at the expense of zero wickets.
Rayudu won the Player of the Match award for his unbeaten 81, and the Mumbai Indians jumped up to the second spot on the points table. With playoffs fast-approaching, Harbhajan’s men will be looking to continue in a similar vein as they take on the Kolkata Knight Riders on May 16 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
Tags: