Virat Kohli (82*) and Faf du Plessis (73) were on fire as the Royal Challengers Bangalore impressed the home crowd at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Sunday, beating Mumbai Indians by eight wickets in Match 5 of IPL 2023.
Mumbai Indians suffered a defeat in the opening match of a season for a 11th consecutive time, having last won their opening match in the tournament back in 2012, when they had beaten Chennai Super Kings.
After having put up 171 on the back of an unbeaten 84 from Tilak Varma, MI bowlers seemed like they lacked confidence, allowing Kohli and Du Plessis score runs freely, and eventually walk away with the win.
Let’s now take a look at some top moments from the game in Bengaluru:
Impactful powerplay for RCB
The powerplay in T20s, that is the first six overs of an innings, is usually meant for the batting team to utilize it and score as many runs as possible, but on Sunday, it was RCB who put the powerplay to full use with the ball.
RCB restricted MI to 29/3 in the powerplay phase, getting some crucial wickets including that of MI skipper Rohit Sharma.
Mohamed Siraj was the first to strike for RCB in the third over, when he saw off Ishan Kishan, and England’s Reece Topley followed suit by cleaning up Cameron Green in the fourth.
And the biggest breakthrough for RCB yet, came when Akash Deep dismissed Rohit Sharma, who was edged and caught by Dinesh Karthik while Rohit looked to push without moving his feet. Rohit’s dismissal is what will probably haunt MI after their defeat.
Tilak Varma shines
On an otherwise forgettable day for Mumbai Indians batters, Tilak Varma stood out amongst the rest, playing a gritty knock of 84 off 46 balls. His knock consisted of nine fours and four sixes, while going at a strike rate of 182.60.
Although Varma lacked consistent partnerships, he still had something to smile about, forging a 50-run stand with Nehal Wadhera and an unbeaten 48-run partnership with Arshad Khan, that eventually took MI to 171.
Mumbai 20 for 3 in their first match in IPL 2023.
Then 20-year-old, Tilak Varma stands tall & scores a terrific 84* from 46 balls including 9 fours & 4 sixes.
A player to watch out for in the future. pic.twitter.com/1tAnxqVnZC
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) April 2, 2023
Varma, however, played well under the pressure situation, especially at a time when MI’s top-order failed to fire, and that knock would have been a learning experience for the 20-year-old.
Suryakumar Yadav fails to fire again
In international cricket, Suryakumar Yadav has had a string of low scores recently, and has been under pressure to produce big results with the bat. But, maybe that pressure might have got the better of him against RCB, as all he could manage was 15 runs before being dismissed by Michael Bracewell in the ninth over.
SKY had endured three golden ducks in the ODI series against Australia in March, while his last notable contribution came in a knock of 47 against New Zealand in a T20I in January.
On Sunday, Suryakuymar managed to hit just one four during his knock, before being caught by Shahbaz Ahmed at backward point off Bracewell’s bowling.
SKY was eventually substituted off, with MI favouring Australia’s Jason Behrendorff during RCB’s chase.
Kohli-Faf du Plessis stand
Over the years, RCB fans had been used to watching Kohli forge century-run stands with AB de Villiers, and on Sunday, it was Kohli forging another century-run stand with another South African, RCB skipper Faf du Plessis.
The duo forged 148 runs for the first wicket, before the skipper was dismissed by Arshad Khan in the 15th over.
Great intent shown by all RCB batsmen. The way Kohli and du Plessis charged down the pitch negating any potential swing against MI’s fast bowlers was the highlight of their match-winning century partnership.
— zaheer khan (@ImZaheer) April 2, 2023
In the powerplay, the duo added 53 runs to RCB’s total. While du Plessis got to his fifty with a maximum that he slog swept towards deep midwicket in the 10th over, it was just a matter of time before Kohli joined the party with his fifty, coming in the 12th over.
It was even more special for Kohli, who had scored just all but two fifties in IPL 2022, and he now has his first fifty in the new season already.
A forgettable MI debut for Jofra Archer
Jofra Archer had been signed by the Mumbai Indians for Rs 8 crore at the IPL 2022 auction, but missed last season with an injury. So, he had only made his Mumbai Indians debut in the IPL on Sunday, but he was far from impactful.
Archer had spent 17 months on the sidelines with back and elbow injuries, but had turned up for MI Cape Town in the inaugural SA20, scalping 10 wickets.
However, the England speedster went wicketless on Sunday against RCB, enduring figures of 0/33 from four overs.
This is just the start, and much would be expected from him, especially having been given the responsibility to lead the MI pace attack in the absence of injured Jasprit Bumrah.
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