MUMBAI: Explosive knocks from Faf du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell took Royal Challengers Bangalore’s total to 199/6 against Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 at the Wankhede Stadium on Tuesday.
RCB’s dangerous opening pair of Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis stepped up on the crease as the visitors were asked to bat first.
The first over was a mere glimpse of the events that were about to unfold as Nehal Wadhera dropped Faf on zero but Jason Behrendorff came back on the very next ball to dismiss Kohli who attempted to play a drive but ended up nicking the ball off the next ball. Kohli departed without making his mark on the match with a score of 1(4).
Anuj Rawat came in and looked lively early on the innings, but Behrendorff struck once again as he dismissed Rawat for a score of 6(4).
When the future looked bleak for RCB, Maxwell and Faf launched a storm that swept away MI’s bowlers within a blink of an eye.
MI skipper Rohit Sharma brought Piyush Chawla into the attack to ensure MI’s dominance in the game as spin bowling has been Maxwell’s Achilles heel for the majority of his career. But instead of playing with caution, Maxwell went to target him to stabilise RCB’s sinking ship.
They ended the powerplay with a score of 56/2.
Maxwell and Faf dealt in boundaries for the next six five overs. Maxwell brought his half-century just four balls before the 10th over and they crossed the 100-run mark in the 10th over.
RCB were destined to cross the 200-run mark but Behrendorff came back into the attack, broke through the partnership and picked up his third wicket of the match. Maxwell became his third victim as the Australian tried to clear the fence but the ball landed straight into the hands of Wadhera.
This wicket marked the end of their game-changing 120-run partnership.
MI got the wicket that they were desperately in search of and this marked the downfall of RCB’s innings in the next overs. They lost two wickets in the next overs. One of them was the set batter Faf du Plessis, who ended his knock with a score of 65(41).
Before the visitors suffered the loss of their inform skipper Mahipal Lomror came and found his way back to the pavilion for a score of 1(3). Kumar Kartikeya claimed his wicket as the ball ended up clipping off the bails from the stumps.
Dinesh Karthik and Kedar Jadhav kept the scoreboard ticking before Karthik unleashed carnage in the 18th over. In the 17th over Cameroon Green dropped a simple catch of Karthik and after that moment the Indian wicketkeeping batter made sure to capitalize on every ball that he faced.
He struck 15 runs in Kartikeya’s over. On the very next ball, Karthik ended up playing a shot which brought an end to his meaningful came of 30(18).
Chris Jordan ended up picking his first wicket of the match. Wanindu Hasaranga found two boundaries in the 19th over after two dot balls.
MI managed to restrict RCB before they crossed the 200-run mark as Akash Madhwal conceded 6 runs in the final over to end RCB’s innings on 199/6.
Brief Scores: Royal Challengers Bangalore 199/6 (Glenn Maxwell 68(33), Faf du Plessis 65(41) and Jason Behrendorff 3/36) vs Mumbai Indians. (ANI)