Krunal’s final over blows help defeat MI in high-scoring thriller; first win for RCB in 10 years at Wankhede

MUMBAI: Left-arm spinner Krunal Pandya’s exceptional bowling performance helped Royal Challengers Bengaluru survive a close call in the high-scoring game against Mumbai Indians as the visitors won by 12 runs in the final over.

Krunal Pandya took three wickets in the final over in a thriller that had specatators on the edge of their seats at the iconic Wankhade Stadium on Monday. Those watching on TV were also glued right through.

RCB made 221-5 with shining knocks from Virat Kohli (67) and Rajat Patidar (64) .

The Bengaluru-based franchise registered a win at Wankhede after long gap of 10 years. After winning this game RCB are on third spot having won three out of their four games in the 18th edition of IPL.

Chasing a mammoth total of 222 runs, the five-time champions didn’t have a good start as they lost their openers Rohit Sharma (17 runs off 9 balls) and Ryan Rickleton (17 runs from 10 balls) very cheaply.

After the fall of these two wickets, the Mumbai Indians side was struggling at 38/2 in 3.4 overs with two new batters, Will Jacks (22 runs in 18 balls) and Suryakumar Yadav (28 runs off 26 balls), on the crease.

The Hardik Pandya-led side touched the 50-run mark in the sixth over of the chase.

Both players built a partnership of 41 runs before Will Jacks was sent back to the pavilion in the 10th over when the team score was 79 on the bowling of left-arm spinner Krunal Pandya.

At the score of 97, the Mumbai-based franchise lost its fourth wicket as Suryakumar was sent back to the dressing room in the 12th over by left-arm seamer Yash Dayal.

After the fall of Suryakumar’s wicket, team skipper Hardik Pandya (42 runs off 15 balls) came out to bat along with Tilak Varma (56 runs from 29 balls) in the middle. From there on, both players took charge and started attacking the bowlers.

The Mumbai side completed the 100-run mark in the 13th over and brought up their 150 in the 15th over. Tilak was dismissed in the 18th over when the team scored 188 runs, and six overs later, Hardik was sent back in the penultimate over.

Following these two wickets, there was no chance for MI side to make a comeback as they lost the match by 12 runs.

For the Rajat Patidar-led side, the pick of the bowler was Krunal who snapped four wickets in his spell of four overs where he conceded 45 runs. two wickets each were grabbed by Yash Dayal (2/46 in 4 overs) & Josh Hazelwood (2/37 in 4 overs) and one wicket was bagged by Bhuvnesh Kumar (1/48 in 4 overs) in their respective spells.

Earlier in the day, after MI won the toss and put RCB to bat first, the match was off to an electric start. While Phil Salt drilled a Trent Boult delivery for a big cover drive for four, Boult got back at him by making a mess out of his stumps on the next ball. RCB was 4/1 in 0.2 overs.

Devdutt Padikkal joined Virat Kohli on the crease. Paddikal welcomed Boult with a four on the first ball and the duo dismantled Boult in the third over as Padikkal hit him for a six over backward square leg while Virat ended the over with two classy fours, bringing the score to 33.

The fourth over witnessed the much-hyped Virat-Jasprit Bumrah face-off and Virat collected eight runs in four balls against him, including a cracking six over deep mid-wicket. The next over by Will Jacks brought two boundaries from Virat and RCB’s 50 runs in five overs.

Deepak Chahar’s final over of the powerplay was a run-fest as Padikkal hit him for two sixes and a four, bringing total of 20 runs. At the end of six overs, RCB was 73/1, with Virat (36*) and Padikkal (32*) unbeaten.

While the run-flow stopped for a while, RCB fans had something to cheer about as Virat reached his second fifty of the season in 29 balls, with six fours and two sixes.

However, the 91-run stand between Virat and Padikkal ended as the latter was removed by Vignesh Puthur with a fine catch from Will Jacks at long-on for 37 in 22 balls, with two fours and three sixes. MI was 95/2 in nine overs.

At the end of 10 overs, RCB reached their 100 runs, with skipper Rajat Patidar (3*) joining Virat (53*).

While runs did not come in plenty during the next two overs, Patidar smashed two boundaries against MI skipper Hardik Pandya and took down Mitchell Santner for two sixes and a four with Virat.

The promising 48-run stand between Rajat and Virat was over as Hardik got the big wicket of Virat for 67 in 42 balls, with eight fours and two sixes, with a fine catch from Naman Dhir at deep square. He also got Liam Livingstone caught by Jasprit Bumrah for a two-ball duck. RCB was 144/4 in 14.3 overs.

Rajat got support from an explosive Jitesh Sharma at the other end. In the 16th over, Jitesh collected a four and six while Patidar got a four against Boult, who conceded 42 runs in just three overs.

The captain continued to lead from the front with a second fifty of his season, in just 25 balls, with four boundaries and three sixes. He was toying with Pandya, hitting him for two successive sixes and then a four. The over ended with a four from Jitesh as the duo looted 23 runs from the 17th over. The duo brought up their 50-run stand in just 17 balls.

Thanks to a powerful six from Jitesh, RCB reached their 200-run mark in 18.1 overs. The penultimate over by Boult turned out to be expensive as there were two wides and two massive sixes by Jitesh. But it ended well thanks to a stunner of a catch by Ryan Rickelton to dismiss Rajat for 64 in 32 balls, with five fours and four sixes. Boult’s spell came to an end at 2/57 in four overs. RCB was 213/5 in 19 overs.

In the final over, Bumrah conceded a six from Jitesh and RCB ended at 221/5, with Jitesh (40* in 19 balls, with two fours and four sixes) and Tim David (1*) unbeaten.

Hardik (2/45) and Boult (2/57) were the top bowlers for MI, while Puthur got a wicket. Bumrah delivered a spell of 0/29 in four overs on his comeback.

Brief Score: Royal Challengers Bengaluru 221/5 in 20 overs (Virat Kohli 67, Rajat Patidar 64, Hardik Pandya 2/45) vs Mumbai Indians 209/9 in 20 overs (Tilak Varma 56 Hardik Pandya 42, Krunal Pandya 4/45). (ANI)