Mumbai Indians (MI) have almost sealed their place in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 playoffs with a commanding five-wicket win over the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). Suryakumar Yadav, two days after being left out of the India squad for the Australia tour, played a match-winning knock in front of India’s captain, Virat Kohli to make a statement as he helped MI to chase down 165 runs comfortably.
Earlier, it was Devdutt Padikkal’s brilliant half-century which helped RCB to reach a decent total. Josh Phillipe, who replaced Aaron Finch at the top, played a decent knock of 24-ball 33 as he added 71 runs for the opening wicket with Padikkal. The latter took on the MI leg-spinner Rahul Chahar to race into the 70s. At the other end, Virat Kohli struggled on the day and mistimed a pull shot off Jasprit Bumrah who scalped his 100th IPL wicket. RCB was looking good to launch an attack 129/2 after 15 overs.
WATCH – Suryakumar Yadav Nullifies The Sledging Attempt Of Virat Kohli
AB de Villiers and Padikkal were batting well, but then they suffered a sudden collapsed as they lost four wickets in 14 balls for just nine runs. Bumrah was the wrecker-in-chief yet again as he scalped Padikkal and Shivam Dube in the wicket-maiden 17th over. It was only due to Gurkeerat Singh and Washington Sundar that RCB somehow managed to cross the 160-run mark and post 165 runs on the board after 20 overs. Bumrah finished with the figures of 3/14 while Krunal Pandya was economical for MI.
MI started decently with the bat as Quinton de Kock and Ishan Kishan added 27 runs before the former getting dismissed by Mohammed Siraj in the sixth over. Ishan felt the pressure and was holed out in the deep and the same was the case with Saurabh Tiwary and Krunal Pandya.
From 72/3, MI came down to then 107/4, things looked tricky for them, but Suryakumar Yadav made sure that the defending champions never get behind in the game. He got an able ally in Hardik Pandya at the other end as the partnership flourished.
WATCH – Devdutt Padikkal Takes An Unbelievable Catch Do Dismiss Saurabh Tiwary
Boundaries kept coming despite RCB bowling good lines thanks to Yadav score a fifty off just 29 balls. The required run-rate came down accordingly even as Dale Steyn conceded 43 runs in his four-over spell. With 16 runs needed in two overs, Chris Morris dismissed Hardi, but it was too late by then as mI needed just 7 runs. Surya completed the formalities with a brilliant four in the final over as MI won the game easily by five wickets.
Hits
Jasprit Bumrah
Jasprit Bumrah has always been a go-to bowler for MI and he didn’t disappoint when the team needed him. Bowling his second over, he managed to scalp the in-form batsman, Virat Kohli on his second delivery itself. He completed his spell after scalping three wickets and conceded just 14 runs.
Surya Kumar Yadav
Suryakumar Yadav has been enjoying a consistent run for MI in the recent game for the IPL 2020. He was desperate to score, especially after being ignored for the Indian squad. He amassed as many as 79 runs in just 43 deliveries with the help of ten fours and three sixes.
Flops
AB de Villiers
It’s been the second consecutive game when AB de Villiers has failed miserably. RCB hasn’t managed to win a single match since his brilliant knock against KKR.
Virat Kohli
After scoring match-winning fifties against RR and CSK, Virat Kohli has been fairly consistent for RCB, but in some matches, he has failed to gain momentum in the middle. For RCB to have a chance to reach the final, he needs to play at a better strike-rate.
