After being put in to bat, Royal Challengers Bangalore racked up a competitive 165 for six in an IPL clash against Mumbai Indians at Dubai on Sunday. RCB rode on crisp knocks from skipper Virat Kohli (51, 42b, 3×4, 3×6) and Glenn Maxwell (56, 37b, 6×4, 3×6).
Kohli took centerstage after fellow opener Devdutt Padikkal was dismissed for a duck by Jasprit Bumrah. Padikkal had no clue to a ball that moved away, opening the face of the bat to guide it to wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock.
One-drop K.S. Bharat (32, 24b, 2×4, 2×6) was not particularly fluent, save for a couple of clean slog-sweep sixes. Immediately after one maximum, Bharat tried to loft leg-spinner Rahul Chahar, but found Suryakumar Yadav at long-off.
Kohli chugged along quietly, and recorded his second consecutive fifty. He received a life on 37, when Hardik Pandya put down a regulation catch at point. During the course of his essay, Kohli completed 10,000 runs in T20 cricket. A pull shot, off pacer Adam Milne, ended his stay.
Maxwell came to the party with typical flair. He got going with a switch hit to left-arm spinner Krunal Pandya, which sailed well beyond the deep point fence. Milne met the same fate later, when Maxwell used a reverse scoop to hit a six over third-man. It took a low full toss from Bumrah to send the dangerous Maxwell back.
Bumrah struck off the very next delivery too when he had de Villiers (11, 6b, 1×4, 1×6) caught behind. The double blow in the 19th over arrested RCB’s momentum. Left-arm speedster Trent Boult bowled a tidy final over, conceding just three. Bumrah was the most successful bowler with three for 36. He has performed well after the restart, taking eight wickets in three matches.
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