Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) beat Mumbai Indians (MI) by eight wickets in yesterday’s Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 match at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
Sent into bat after losing the toss, MI recovered from a disappointing start to post a competitive 171/7 thanks to Tilak Varma’s 46-ball 84*. Virat Kohli (82* off 49) and Faf du Plessis (73 off 43), however, added 148 for the opening wicket as RCB raced home in 16.2 overs.
Du Plessis was the aggressor in the opening stand, slamming Jason Behrendorff for a four and two sixes in the third over. There was a massive moment in the game at the start of the fourth over as Jofra Archer put down a return catch offered by Kohli. In the very same over, the RCB batter whacked a slower ball over long-off for a maximum.
When Cameron Green was introduced in the eighth over, Du Plessis hammered him for two fours and a six. The RCB skipper raced to fifty by whacking Hrithik Shokeen over wide long for a six. Kohli was more patient in comparison, reaching his half-century in 38 balls.
The fantastic opening stand ended when Du Plessis lofted Arshad Khan to long-on. Dinesh Karthik fell for a duck to Green, but Kohli brought up the victory in emphatic fashion, smashing Arshad for a six over long on.
Tilak Varma’s brilliance lifts MI after lethargic start
Mumbai got off to a poor start with the bat, losing four wickets for 48 runs in under nine overs. Ishan Kishan (10) was the first to go, caught at deep third man off Mohammed Siraj’s bowling. Reece Topley cleaned up Green (5) with a full and straight delivery before hurting his shoulder during a fielding effort and being out of the match.
Out-of-sorts MI skipper Rohit Sharma (1 off 10) played a poor stroke to be caught behind off Akash Deep. Suryakumar Yadav’s (15) poor run continued as he slashed Michael Bracewell to backward point. Varma and Nehal Wadhera (21 off 13) added 50 for the fifth wicket to give Mumbai’s innings some direction.
Varma slammed Glenn Maxwell for consecutive sixes at the start of the 12th over. At the other end, Wadhera hammered Karn Sharma for two maximums before failing in his third attempt. Tim David (4) then missed his slog sweep and was cleaned up by Sharma.
Varma singlehandedly lifted MI to a competitive score. He reached fifty off 32 balls by launching Akash Deep over deep square leg for a six. He clubbed Harshal Patel for a four and a six in the last over to ensure MI had a decent score to defend.
RCB vs MI: Who Won Player of the Match in yesterday’s IPL 2023 match?
Karn Sharma claimed two wickets for RCB, dismissing Wadhera and David. Du Plessis and Kohli were exceptional in the chase.
For MI, Varma played a lone hand. His unbeaten 84 featured nine fours and four sixes.
Bangalore skipper Du Plessis was named Player of the Match for his fantastic knock.
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