On this day, AB De Villiers played a smashing knock at the Wankhede Stadium and showed his superpowers to the world. He scored 133 runs off just 59 balls while his captain Virat Kohli scored a classy 82 at the other end. Royal Challengers Bangalore easily defeated Mumbai Indians by 39 runs.
ABD came in to bat at the fall of opener Chris Gayle’s wicket and tore apart the MI bowling as he hammered four sixes and 19 fours on the flat batting track at the Wankhede Stadium as RCB notched up a mammoth 235 runs in their first innings.
De Villiers and Kohli completely blasted the MI attack during their all-time IPL record partnership of 215 in 102 balls, which went past the previous best of 206 between Adam Gilchrist and Shaun Marsh for Kings XI Punjab against RCB in 2011 at Dharamsala.
Chasing the mammoth score, MI made a brave effort before finally ending up with 196 for 7. Opener Lendl Simmons made 68, studded with 5 fours and 3 sixes in 53 balls and also added 70 in 37 balls for the third wicket with Kiron Pollard (49), but the target was too much.
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Earlier, Lendl Simmons brought off a flying catch at the short third man in the next over from Malinga to send the dangerous Gayle back but the dropped chance of Kohli proved expensive. From 88 for 1 after 10 overs, the score jumped to 147/1 after 15 with Harbhajan and Suchith – who ended up wicketless after conceding 35 runs in three overs – unable to exercise any control.
De Villiers stormed to his century in just 47 balls by striking successive sixes off Bumrah who was carted for another six by Kohli in the 17th over in which 25 runs were scored. Pandya was carted around for 19 runs in the 18th and after Malinga was hit for 14 in the penultimate over, Pandya was strangely asked to bowl the last in which 17 runs came.
The last four overs yielded a staggering 75 runs. MI started the stiff run-chase well with Parthiv Patel hammering RCB’s biggest threat Mitchell Starc for three fours in his second over before he was run out for 19. Captain Rohit Sharma too left after a 13-ball 15, to leave West Indians Simmons, who again impressed in the opening slot, and the big-hitting Pollard stitching a half-century stand.
But the asking rate kept climbing and Pollard, who struck 2 sixes and six fours, fell in attempting another big heave with 103 needed in 34 balls and the MI’s challenge virtually ended even though Simmons battled on bravely.
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