Sunday’s thumping victory over Mumbai Indians was the perfect start for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League 2023. (April 2). After a big opening combination between openers Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli, RCB easily chased down 172.
Successful powerplay by RCB
As soon as RCB took control of each of those situations, the game was over. They took off MI’s top order at little to no cost, leaving them in a precarious position at 29/3. Ishan Kishan was out caught at third base on a mistimed shot, while Reece Topley had Cameron Green’s stumps in disarray with a full ball that he whacked back in. If not for a collision with Dinesh Karthik, Mohammad Siraj would have taken Rohit Sharma’s wicket as well. But, the captain didn’t survive long since he fell behind in the next over and left for 1 off 10.
Kohli and du Plessis had fun during the run chase by challenging Jofra Archer and Jason Behrendorff, who had been brought in as a pinch hitter. RCB reached 53 without losing a wicket in the powerplay, with Kohli striking out against Archer and du Plessis smashing Behrendorff for consecutive sixes.
How successful was MI’s comeback after the powerplay?
After the powerplay’s misstep, it was up to Suryakumar Yadav to lead the charge back to victory. But a short and wide delivery from IPL rookie Michael Bracewell got him out, and it was a crucial wicket. With the five-time winners at only 55 at the midway point, the pressure was on Tilak Verma to lead MI to a reasonable total. Nehal Wadhera took some time to relax as Tilak continued going at one end, seemingly batting on a separate surface. Wadhera finally took on Karn Sharma to hand MI a timely boost but MI still needed a big push to post a substantial total.
How far did that prod go?
Absolutely!! They had Tilak to thank, as the youngster, who was easily their standout performer last year in a dismal campaign, took charge once again. Even though Tim David departed cheaply, Tilak wasn’t deterred as he smashed Akash over deep square leg to bring up a fifty before fetching vital boundaries off Siraj and Harshal Patel. Tilak rounded off the innings by clearing the ropes for the fourth time on the night, and even debutant Arshad Khan contributed with a six in the last over. Even 150 seemed out of reach before MI’s late surge propelled them beyond 170.
Did something like that happen with the ball?
No way, no how. Du Plessis took on Green after the powerplay and ensured the youngster leaked 17 in the over before hammering Hrithik Shokeen for successive sixes that also helped him bring up his fifty. Kohli then cleared the ropes to bring up the century stand as RCB continued to cruise. Rohit’s move to bring back Archer in search of a wicket also proved to be futile as the pacer failed to break the stand. Du Plessis continued to make merry and Kohli pulled Archer over square leg as RCB raced to 139 in just 14 overs. The 148-run stand was finally broken by young Arshad which was then followed by Karthik’s departure for a duck. But Kohli and Glenn Maxwell ensured there were no hiccups.
So, what’s next?
RCB will fancy their chances of making it two out of two as they are now slated to face Kolkata Knight Riders next, a side that has far too many holes to plug going by their performance on Saturday. Mumbai Indians are not playing for the next five days but the next time they are on the park, it’s for an epic clash against their nemesis CSK. No better way to stage a comeback than putting one past your rivals in front of your home crowd.
Brief scores: Mumbai Indians 171/7 in 20 overs (Tilak Varma 84; Karn Sharma 2/32) lost to Royal Challengers Bangalore 172/2 in 16.2 overs (Virat Kohli 82, Faf du Plessis 73) by 8 wickets
