Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) got their IPL 2023 campaign off to a winning start as they registered an 8-wicket win over Mumbai Indians (MI) in their opening encounter at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Sunday, April 2. After being put in to bat first, Mumbai was brought to their knees by RCB’s top-notch bowling before a brilliant knock from Tilak Varma took them to a fighting total of 171/7 in the first innings.
During the chase, RCB chased down the target with 22 balls to spare owing to the opening partnership of 148 runs between Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis. As a result, they registered their fifth win against MI in their last six games. Following their dominating victory, the entire RCB team celebrated the victory ecstatically in the dressing room.
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In a video shared on RCB’s official Twitter account, the entire team could be seen standing together as skipper, Faf du Plessis taught them how to sing the team song. All the players were seen in a jovial mood as they sang their hearts out and celebrated the first victory of the season.
RCB v MI: Dressing Room Victory Celebration
Captain Faf leads from the front off the field as well, as the team prepares to bring finesse into the team song. Here’s more from last night’s win against MI.#PlayBold #ನಮ್ಮRCB #IPL2023 pic.twitter.com/h8JnkaIn97
— Royal Challengers Bengaluru (@RCBTweets) April 3, 2023
Coming back to the match, after opting to bowl first, RCB’s bowlers succumbed to the Mumbai batters and had them reeled at 48/4 after 8.5 overs. Seeing his side in disarray, Tilak Varma played a sensational knock of 84* off 46 balls smashing nine fours and four sixes in his innings. He made a 50-run partnership with Nehal Wadhera for the fifth wicket and added 48 runs with Arshad Khan for the eighth wicket to take Mumbai to 171/7.
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In reply, Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli came out all guns blazing and completely smashed MI’s bowling attack as they smacked them all over the ground. They added 148 runs off 89 balls to stamp their authority over Mumbai and crush whatever little hopes they had of winning the match.
Du Plessis went on to score 73 off 43 balls while Kohli remained unbeaten on 82 off 49 balls to set up a comprehensive win for RCB. After winning their first game, RCB will look to continue their winning momentum against Kolkata Knight Riders on April 6 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
