At the Wankhede Stadium on Tuesday, Mumbai Indians defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore by a margin of x wickets to move up to No. 3 from No. 8 in the IPL 2023 points standings. Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, and Nehal Wadhera all played significant roles in MI’s sixth victory of the year. MI is a five-time IPL champion.
In 2022, MI had the worst point total, but this season, things have started to go their way. They had defeated Punjab Kings on May 3 by chasing down 215 thanks to Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav’s spectacular play. These two again took centre stage in a dramatic chase six days later.
His best score in the IPL, Suryakumar Yadav was eventually removed for 83 off 35 balls. After scoring his second consecutive fifty in the IPL, Nehal Wadhera ended the chase with a six.
Ishan Kishan was quick as the Mumbai Indians got going in their pursuit of 200 runs, but much will depend on Rohit Sharma’s performance on Tuesday. In the competition, Rohit recorded four straight single-digit scores, including ducks in back-to-back games. Ishan hammered four fours and four sixes while Rohit watched from the non-striker’s end, laying the groundwork for a difficult chase.
Even though Mohammed Siraj has been one of the most effective bowlers in the powerplay this year, Ishan Kishan appeared keen to make the most of the first six overs, and even he was treated with contempt. In front of a large audience at the Wankhede, Ishan showed off a variety of strokes as Josh Hazlewood received little respect.
In his first over, Wanindu Hasaranga halted the run flow. The Sri Lankan spinner dismissed Ishan Kishan for a 21-ball 42 and Rohit Sharma, whose nightmares began as the MI captain left for 7 off 8 balls, after Siraj and Hazlewood combined for 40 runs in the opening four overs.
However, MI remained in the running thanks to a brilliant connection between Suryakumar Yadav and Nehal Wadhera. In a big chase on Tuesday, Wadhera continued his hot form after scoring his first IPL fifty against Chennai Super Kings a few days earlier. He matched Suryakumar Yadav, the finest T20 batter in the world, shot for shot in a fun partnership. After 10 overs, MI had reached 99 for 2, which was a strong starting point for the 200-run chase.
Suryakumar Yadav unleashed some incredible blows while MI was in full control of the chase, hitting Mohammed Siraj for a 4, 6, and then a single to reach his half-century off 26 balls. As Wadhera settled down to play an innings that was incredibly mature for a 22-year-old playing in his debut IPL, MI now had the game to lose.
Vijaykumar Vyshak struck twice off consecutive balls to eliminate Tim David and Suryakumar Yadav with 8 runs required off 27 balls. However, there was no more controversy because MI triumphed easily.
Jason Behrendorff rocked Royal Challengers Bangalore after Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and decided to field at the Wankhede Stadium. Virat Kohli might have struggled with his strike-rate in the 2023 IPL but he is among the leading run-scorers this season. He also top-scored with an unbeaten 82 in RCB’s first match of the season against MI on April 2. On Tuesday, Kohli was sent back by Behrendorff for 1 when he tried to hit the pacer and edged to Ishan Kishan behind the stumps.
Jason Behrendorff struck again in his second over to dismiss Anuj Rawat who was sent in at No.3. At 16 for 2 in the third over, RCB were in a spot of bother but that also brought together the two most dangerous batters in the team. Faf du Plessis has been in stunning form for RCB this year and is the leading-run scorer so far. With his side in trouble, du Plessis led from the front again and smashed 5 fours and 3 sixes in a 41-ball 65. With Glenn Maxwell, du Plessis added 120 runs for the third wicket in just 10.1 overs.
At the midway point, RCB sped ahead to 104 for 2 and appeared poised for a huge score. When Jason Behrendorff took his third wicket, MI responded by returning Glenn Maxwell for a 33-ball 68. His innings had eight fours and four sixes, and the RCB middle order would quickly fall apart if he were to be dismissed at that point.
The following two overs were bowled by Kumar Kartikeya and Cameron Green, who both removed Mahipal Lomror and Faf du Plessis. Dinesh Karthik, who scored 30 off 18 balls, provided the RCB with another strong performance that they were looking for from somewhere in the middle order. Mahipal Lomror was replaced by Kedar Jadhav after the Impact Player managed only 12 off of 10 balls and continued to stay unblemished. Finally, MI put up an outstanding fightback to keep RCB under 200. After allowing 17 runs in his first over, Akash Madhwal allowed only 6 runs off of his final over to maintain RCB at 199 for 6.
With three for thirty-six off of four overs, Jason was the best of the MI bowlers. Additionally impressive was Kumar Kartikeya, and Cameron Green took 1 for 15 from his two overs. Chris Jordan, who replaced Jofra Archer and made his Mumbai Indians debut, took the crucial wicket of Dinesh Karthik but allowed 48 runs to come off his four overs. After their tournament opener against the same team, Piyush Chawla, who is competing for the Purple Cap, went without a wicket for the second time this season.
