Mumbai, April 12 (IANS) Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar put up a brilliant display of power-hitting as they blazed to half-centuries after Jasprit Bumrah had claimed a sensational 5-21 as Mumbai Indians thrashed Royal Challengers Bengaluru by seven wickets with 27 balls to space in Match 25 of Indian Premier League 2024 on Thursday.
Kishan blasted a 23-ball half-century on his way to a 34-ball 69, raising 72 runs in the power-play and putting on a century partnership with Rohit Sharma (38) while Yadav stormed to a 17-ball fifty, the second fastest this season as Mumbai Indians raced to 199/3 in 15.3 overs after Bumrah had helped them restrict RCB to 196/8 in 20 overs despite superb half-centuries by Faf du Plessis, Rajat Patidar and Dinesh Karthik, who reach his half-century off 22 balls. This was the first instance of three batters slammed half-centuries and a bowler took a fifer in the same innings in T20 cricket.
On a Wankhede Stadium pitch full of runs on which the ball was sticking and stopping a bit, Bumrah bowled toe-crushing yorkers and slow, low full tosses to keep the batters guessing as he claimed two wickets off successive overs twice.
In a match in which five batters scored half-centuries, Bumrah was the only bowler to make an impression and eventually proved the difference for Mumbai Indians as he bagged his second five-wicket haul for sensational figures of 5-21 in four overs as Mumbai Indians won their second match of the season in five outings and 50th overall at the Wankhede Stadium to prove that they are finally getting back into the groove and will be a handful any opposition if their batters and bowlers performed to their optimum.
This was the ninth instance when Mumbai Indians successfully chased a target of 190-plus scores, the most by any team alongside Punjab Kings. This is also the 11th time that RCB has failed to defend a 190-plus score.
Mumbai got off to a sensational start with Ishan Kishan batting in whirlwind fashion, racing to 72 runs in the mandatory Power-play. They raced to fifty in 29 balls in the fifth over.
He started his assault on the RCB bowlers with a six off Mohammed Siraj, a fine flick off a full-length delivery. Reece Topley was flayed for a hat-trick of boundaries in the third over — flayed to backward point, next an edge past Glenn Maxwell as he failed to hold on to it at slip and then another flick through midwicket for his third four of the over.
He shivered and pulled Siraj for a six, and followed it up with a punch off the back foot to the cover boundary and put the icing on the cake, leaning back and slashing him for a brilliant six. Rohit Sharma helped himself to a six after Ishan ran for a single as Mahipal Lomror saved a certain four. Siraj conceded 23 runs off the over. When Maxwell was pressed into action, Kishan hammered him for a four and then a six and four off successive deliveries in the same sixth over as he raced to his half-century off 23 balls, becoming the third batter to score a half-century in Power-play for Mumbai Indians. This was the second time Kishan scored fifty in the Power-play.
Kishan was eventually out for 68 off 34 balls, caught by Virat Kohli at long-off as Akash Deep managed to fox him with a slow bouncer as the Mumbai Indians opener failed to time his shot. Ishan Kishan managed a strike rate of 200-plus in his innings and Rohit Sharma looked a slow coach with his strike rate of 150-odd as they raised 101 runs in nine overs for the first wicket partnership.
Suryakumar Yadav, who came in as an Impact Substitute in place of Akash Madhwal, continued with the carnage, proving once again why he is considered the best T20 batter in the world.
The Mumbai batter considered the best 360-degree batter the game has seen after AB de Villiers, put up a brilliant display of power-hitting, unleashing a range of shots that had the packed crowd mesmerised. Suryakuamr Yadav was out for a zero in his first match on return from injury but showed on Thursday that he is in brilliant form as he put up a sensational display of power-hitting to score a 17-ball half-century, the joint eighth-fastest half-century in IPL history. He joined Chris Gayle, Hardik Pandya and Kieron Pollard as the fourth batter to score a half-century off 17 balls.
After a couple of doubles and a single, SKY waded into Akash Deep for three sixes and a four in the 11th over. Starting with a four followed by a dot ball, Surya hammered a slow knuckleball by Akash Deep for a massive six. The next ball, Glenn Maxwell dropped by Glenn Maxwell at backward point as he cut hard at a short and wide one. SKY rubbed salt into the wound when he hammered the next two deliveries for sixes to leave the RCB bowler shell-shocked.
In between Rohit departed to a sensational catch by Reece Topley off Will Jacks, his first wicket in his debut match as the former Mumbai Indians captain scored 38 off 24 balls.
Suryakumar Yadav continued to torment the RCB bowlers. A four and a six followed by two more boundaries off Topley in the 13th over as SKY sliced, scooped and flicked off his wrists as he stormed to his half-century off 17 balls.
He was finally out in the 14th over, finding the fielder off Vijaykumar Vyshak, scything it straight to deep point for Lomror to pick a fine catch.
Hardik Pandya, who was booed once again by the crowd but also had a section of the stands rooting for him, started with a six off Will Jacks off the first ball. He hammered Vyshak for a six in the 14th over before sealing victory with a six, a brilliant shot to end the match as Mumbai Indians chased down 197 in 15.3 overs, giving their Net Run Rate a much-needed boost after starting IPL 2024 with three successive defeat.
Earlier, Dinesh Karthik provided the perfect finishing touch to Royal Challenger Bengaluru’s innings after Du Plessis and Patidar had helped them recover from the early loss of Virat Kohli with a brilliant partnership of 82 runs. Du Plessis completed his half-century off 33 balls while Patidar raced to his fifty off 25 balls. Karthik then hammered 52 not out off 23 balls to help RCB put up what looked like a strong total.
RCB got off to a poor start as their inform-batter and former captain Virat Kohli succumbed early in the high-voltage clash on a hot and humid evening.
Kohli’s stay in the middle lasted nine balls and he got out for three runs even before he had got firing. The former RCB captain had survived a strong lbw appeal on the second ball of the third over bowled by Jasprit Bumrah.
However, Mumbai Indians’ best bowler this season so far had him man off the next delivery, Bumrah used his wide release angle to make the fullish length delivery to get into Kohli and the former India captain’s swipe at a ball going leg side kisses his bat and Ishan Kishan dived to his left and plucked a good catch. RCB down to 14/1.
It became 23/2 soon as debutant Will Jacks got out for eight off six balls as he was caught by Tim David off Akash Madhwal, failing to clear the mid-on fielder as the bowler banged it a bit short. Jacks, who struck Bumrah for a boundary off the second ball he faced, hit Madhwal for a boundary off the fourth delivery he faced in IPL and fell a ball later. RCB went on to make 44/2 in the Power-play.
However, they found their heroes in skipper Faf du Plessis and Rajat Patidar as the duo added 82 runs for the third wicket partnership as they took RCB past the 100-run mark. Both reached their half-centuries, Patidar blazing to his fifty off 26 balls, hitting three boundaries and four sixes.
Patidar started with a boundary off Madhwal and then repeated the act in the sixth over, swivelling and pulling over the fielder at midwicket a ball that pitched around good length around off. He hammered his first six of the day off leggie Shreyas Gopal, slogging it over cow corner a full-length ball around off. In the 10th over, he planted a delivery from Pandya into the second-tier over wide long-on as the Mumbai Indians skipper conceded 13 runs in his first over.
Patidar, who survived a DRS review for caught behind off Bumrah, hammered Gerald Coetzee for sixes off successive balls in the 12th over, flicking a knee-high full toss in front of square and following it up by flat-batting a pull in the same region. The second six brought in his half-century off 25 balls, studded with three fours and four sixes.
But the South African pacer had the last laugh as he banged it short and angled it into the batter, Patidar attempted to pull but gloved it to Ishan Kishan for a well-made fifty.
Glenn Maxwell failed once again but Du Plessis found a willing partner in Dinesh Karthik as they raised a crucial partnership.
Du Plessis continued in the same vein as he completed his half-century off 33 balls, hitting four boundaries and two maximums. The South African batter, who struck Mohd Nabi for a four off the last ball of the first over, picked fellow South African Coetzee from the good length and scooped the ball over the boundary shuffling to the off-side after his compatriot had nearly scythed through him with a delivery that jagged in sharply struck the RCB skipper on his body.
He struck a couple of boundaries off Romario Shepherd as he reached his 34th half-century in the Indian Premier League and 66th in T20s. He celebrated his fifty by planting Shreyas Gopal twenty rows back into the stands, backing away to a full delivery on the off.
Bumrah then turned things in Mumbai Indians’ favour, claiming two wickets off successive deliveries twice as he completed a well-deserved fifer.
He started the turnaround for Mumbai Indians by getting Du Plessis caught by Tim David, a shin-high full toss preventing the RCB skipper from getting under the ball to generate power. RCB fell to 153/5.
It became 153/6 as Bumrah trapped Mahipal Lomror for a first-ball duck with a superb toe-crusher. Replays confirmed that it would have clipped the outside of the leg stump.
Saurav Chauhan, who came in as an Impact Player, survived the hat-trick ball. But Bumrah was at it once again as he got Chauhan off the third delivery of the 18th over with a short one that the batter guided to midwicket and followed it up with his fifth wicket getting Vijaykumar Vyshak for a duck and ended with 5-21, bowling brilliantly on a pitch on which the ball was gripping a bit and other bowlers got hit for a few runs.
Dinesh Karthik, who watched the parade with his teammates from the other end, finished it in style, hitting Akash Madhwal for two sixes and a four in successive balls as they got 19 runs from the final over.
Karthik completed his half-century off 22 balls, hitting five boundaries and four sixes, essaying the finisher’s role to perfection as RCB fell just short of the 200-run mark.
But in the end, it proved insufficient as MI chased down the target easily thanks to brilliant stroke play by Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav.
Brief scores:
Royal Challengers Bengaluru 196/8 in 20 overs (Faf du Plessis 61, Rajat Patidar 50, Dinesh Karthik 53 not out; Jasprit Bumrah 5-21) lost to Mumbai Indians 199/3 in 15.3 overs (Ishan Kishan 69, Suryakumar Yadav 52, Rohit Sharma 38; Will Jacks 1-24, Vijaykumar Vyshak 1-32) by seven wickets.
–IANS
bsk/
