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Mumbai Indians’ (MI) bad run in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 continues as they were comprehensively beaten by seven wickets by Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). The five-time IPL champions MI suffered their fourth consecutive defeat in a row, much like defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK). Anuj Rawat’s maiden half-century, Virat Kohli’s sensible knock coupled with finishing touches from Dinesh Karthik and Glenn Maxwell sealed an easy win with nine balls to spare.
Skipper struggles
RCB's start to the run chase was not a good one. Skipper Faf du Plessis struggled to score. His stay at the crease came to an end in the ninth over. Jaydev Unadkat got Du Plessis' wicket. The opened scored just 16 runs from 24 deliveries. The 22-year-old opener Anuj Rawat kept RCB in hunt.
Match-winning partnership
While Kohli took his time at the crease, Rawat got to his half-century from 38 deliveries. Kohli accelerated as well and was given a second chance by 'Baby AB' aka Brevis. Rawat started attacking more in the death overs, looking to finish the match early. However, his innings came to an end with Ramandeep Singh's direct hit. The left-handed batter scored 66 runs from 47 deliveries. His match-winning knock included two fours and six sixes.
Easy finish
After Rawat’s wicket, Dinesh Karthik got promoted up the order instead of Maxwell. Karthik started swinging early and hit a six off Jasprit Bumrah. With just eight runs from 12 deliveries needed, Rohit handed the ball to Brevis, who trapped Kohli in front of the stumps. Kohli reviewed the decision but inconclusive decision ruled it in MI’s flavour. The former skipper missed his half-century by two runs. His knock included five boundaries. However, there was no twist in the tale as Maxwell finished off the run chase with two consecutive boundaries in the first game of the season.
Rohit fails to capitalise
In the first innings, MI got off to a good start in the powerplay overs. Skipper Rohit looked good during the fielding restrictions but Harshal Patel got rid of him in the seventh over. The opener scored 26 runs from 15 deliveries including four fours and one six. Once again, he failed to capitalise after a good start.
Collapse in middle overs
Playing his second IPL game, Dewald Brevis could not read Wanindu Hasaranga's googly and got out leg before wicket. Ishan Kishan followed him in the next over after a 28-ball 26. In-form batter Tilak Varma's innings came to an abrupt end as he got run out by Maxwell's runout. Hasaranga got another crucial wicket with Kieron Pollard getting out for a golden duck. On his IPL debut, Ramandeep stayed in the middle for a while but could score only six runs from 12 deliveries. MI lost five wickets for 19 runs within 29 deliveries in the middle over.
Surya rescues MI
On the other end, Suryakumar played himself in. He found the perfect partner in Saurashtra skipper Unadkat. Suryakumar targetted Shahbaz Ahmed in the 15th over with a six and a boundary each. In the 17th over, he hit a six off Hasaranga as well. In the penultimate over, he targetted Mohammed Siraj. The RCB fast bowler erred and got hammered for 23 runs in the over including three sixes. Harshal bowled with near-pin-point accuracy but could not finish well as Suryakumar hit a six off the final delivery of the innings.
The two batter shared a 72-run partnership for the seventh wicket. Unadkat contributed with 13 runs off 14 deliveries whereas Suryakumar scored 68 runs from 37 deliveries including five fours and six sixes. Surya's dependable knock helped MI post a fighting total of 151/6.
