Mumbai Indians (MI) defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in a high-octane game in Mumbai as the hosts registered their first win of 11 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) by defeating the visitors by 46 runs at the Wankhede Stadium on Tuesday. RCB skipper Virat Kohli, the current owner of the Orange Cap, stayed at the crease till the end as he scored an unbeaten on 92 off 62 balls but that was not enough as his team was chasing 216 but could eventually manage just 167/8 in their quota of 20 overs. Kohli was the lone warrior from the famed RCB line-up could get going or stay put for a decent partnership with him. Heartbroken after the loss, the 29-year-old said that as a unit, they failed to make a statement.
During the post-match presentation, Virat said, “We just threw it away and must reflect on our dismissals. Few good partnerships would’ve done the trick for us. Not the 40-45 scores but 80-85 one. But credit to Mumbai who bowled really well.”
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Owing to his typically aggressive knock, Kohli became the highest run-scorer in this season’s IPL and is also the current owner of the Orange Cap with 201 runs in four matches. However, the upset captain was not ready to acknowledge his personal achievement as RCB thrashed by the hosts. He added, “I don’t really want to wear the orange cap right now. Mumbai played well, we didn’t get any chances, and when you have your back against the wall — like they did — they could play fearlessly. We tried our hardest but couldn’t get the breakthroughs in after the two early wickets.”
Earlier, Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma scored a brilliant knock of 94 off 52 balls before his bowlers produced a dominating performance as MI managed to end their winless streak.
Talking about the win, Rohit said, “It wasn’t the ideal situation and I thought Umesh (Yadav) bowled in the right areas. There’s always something for the seamers in the first six overs, but the wicket was still soft when I came in, so just wanted to assess the situation and pace my innings. Always easier when you spend some time in the crease. This is a perfect game for us.”
Put into bat, Mumbai recovered from a shock start of 0 for 2 to post 213 for 6, their highest score of the season, mainly through the splendid batting of Rohit and opener Evin Lewis (65 in 42 balls).
