On April 11 at Wankhede Stadium, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) suffered a comprehensive seven-wicket defeat at the hands of Mumbai Indians. Despite posting a challenging target of 197, RCB bowlers failed to make a mark. Fifties from Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav helped the home team chase down the target with 27 balls to spare. At one point of time, the Mumbai crowd chanted ‘Kohli ko bowling do’ as RCB bowlers were getting smashed around the park.
The chant was common during the ICC Men’s ODI World Cup 2023. Virat Kohli even amused the fans by rolling his arm. He picked up a wicket against the Netherlands. Notably, the last time Kohli bowled in the Indian Premier League (IPL) was in 2016 edition. However, in the clash against Mumbai Indians (MI), Kohli had a different reaction. He held his ears while laughing and asked the crowd to stop chanting ‘Kohli ko bowling do’. The video of Kohli’s reaction has gone viral on social media.
Kohli had a bad day at the office with the bat. He struggled against MI pace bowling spearhead Jasprit Bumrah. He played across the line and inside edged to wicketkeeper Kishan. The 35-year-old scored just three runs from nine balls.
Bumrah was exceptional with the ball. He dismissed RCB skipper Faf du Plessis in the slog overs followed by in-form Mahipal Lomror for a golden duck. In the penultimate over, he preyed upon lower-order batters Saurav Chauhan and Vijaykumar Vyshak to complete his fifer. He became the second bowler in the IPL 2024 after Lucknow Super Giants’(LSG) Yash Thakur to take a five-wicket haul.
ALSO READ: Virat Kohli turns Wankhede crowd's boos to cheers for Hardik Pandya; watch heartwarming video
Ineffective RCB bowlers
Akash who played his first match of the season was very expensive. He conceded 55 runs from 3.3 overs. His only wicket in the match was MI opener Kishan who scored 69 runs from 34 balls. The least expensive bowler for RCB was left-arm English pacer Reece Topley. He conceded 34 runs from three overs.
Early elimination for RCB?
This was RCB's sixth consecutive defeat against MI at the Wankhede Stadium. The last time RCB beat MI at this venue was in the 2015 edition of the cash-rich league. With just one win from six games, RCB face the possibility of an early elimination from the playoffs race. They will face Sunrisers Hyderabad in their next clash on April 15 at M.Chinnaswamy Stadium.
MORE ON SPORTS TAK:
