Mumbai Indians 199 for 3 (Kishan 69, Suryakumar 52, Rohit 38, Jacks 1-24) beat Royal Challengers Bengaluru 196 for 8 (Du Plessis 61, Karthik 53*, Patidar 50, Bumrah 5-21) by seven wickets
The bash-through-the-line Wankhede pitch and dewy conditions contributed to five 50-plus scores, including a 17-ball half-century from Suryakumar Yadav, but it was Jasprit Bumrah who produced the most decisive performance on the night to set up Mumbai Indians’ second successive victory at home.
Bumrah’s 5 for 21 – he was on a hat-trick twice – kept Royal Challengers Bengaluru to 196 for 8, despite Dinesh Karthik‘s inventive 53 not out off 23 balls. Karthik hit four sixes and a four off the last seven legal balls he faced to give RCB a biggish total.
But it looked smaller than it was when Ishan Kishan cracked a 23-ball half-century inside the powerplay in the chase. It looked a whole lot smaller when Suryakumar, playing only his second game back from injury, reminded the world of his power and range. MI eventually mowed down the target with seven wickets and nearly five overs to spare.
Captain Hardik Pandya was booed when he bowled a solitary over earlier in the night, but a packed crowd celebrated with him when he finished the chase with a six.
Patidar, du Plessis prop up RCB
Before that, Bumrah had Virat Kohli swiping and edging behind for three off nine balls in his first over, the third of the innings. In the next over, Akash Madhwal generated his signature skid to have Will Jacks, who made his IPL debut in place of Cameron Green, flapping a catch to mid-on for eight.
Du Plessis tried to salvage the powerplay by staying leg side of the ball and using his hands to pump the ball over the top. Patidar, too, started quickly and later overtook du Plessis to become the first of many half-centurions in the game.
Patidar reached the landmark with back-to-back sixes off Gerald Coetzee, but the South Africa quick hit back the next ball to bounce Patidar out for 50 off 26 balls.
Bumrah’s masterclass
After removing Kohli with the new ball, Bumrah returned with the old one to almost shut down RCB’s innings.
In a 17th over, which was full of yorkers or low full-tosses, he dismissed du Plessis (61) and Mahipal Lomror (0). Du Plessis failed to get under a hard-to-hit low full-toss and holed out to long-on while Lomror was pinned lbw by a yorker off the next ball.
In his next over, Bumrah found himself on a hat-trick again but didn’t get to it this time either. He bounced out Saurav Chauhan, RCB’s impact player, and Vyshak Vijaykumar off successive balls, but Akash Deep somehow kept out the hat-trick ball, which was a yorker.
Bumrah’s five-wicket haul, though, had his former captain Rohit Sharma lifting him off the ground, and his former bowling partner and current bowling coach, Lasith Malinga, on his feet, applauding him from the dugout.
On Sunday, against Delhi Capitals, Bumrah came away with 4-0-22-2 on a day when 439 runs were scored. Thursday’s performance was even more special on a dewy night.
Karthik finishes with a flourish
Karthik, who has represented MI in the past, had the Wankhede crowd chanting his name when he picked a slower ball from Bumrah and launched it over extra-cover, providing a throwback to his six that won India the Nidahas Trophy in 2018.
He played a number of other sensational shots as well. When Madhwal denied him easy access to the shorter square boundary on the leg side, Karthik scooped him for a pair of fours over short third in the 16th over that cost MI 19 runs. Karthik also helped take 19 off Madhwal’s final over, also the final over of the innings, but it would not be enough for RCB.
Kishan blasts off
Mohammed Siraj and Reece Topley swung the new ball in the early exchanges, but that didn’t stop Kishan from maximising the powerplay.
When Siraj swung one into his pads, he picked it up over square leg for six. Then, when Topley moved one away from him, Kishan crunched him over point. Kishan had a nervy moment on 12, when Topley found his edge, but it flew between keeper and first slip for four more.
Kishan continued to deal in boundaries and repeated his feat of smashing a fifty in the powerplay for MI.
A SKY-high return
Akash Deep stopped Kishan on 69 and Jacks removed Rohit for 38, but there would be no respite for RCB.
Their bowlers kept missing their lengths as the dew set in and Suryakumar went about making life even more difficult for them.
Suryakumar could have been dismissed on 15 but Maxwell dropped him at backward point and then left the field, writhing in pain. Suryakumar then unfurled his Supla shot and used his wrists and fast hands to scythe wide balls over point. He charged to his fastest T20 fifty with a sequence of 4, 6, 4, 4 off Topley in the 13th over. He holed out in the next over, but Hardik and Tilak Varma sealed a NRR-boosting win for MI with 27 balls in hand.
