IPL 10, Match 38, MI v RCB Review: Rohit Sharma special give MI their 8th win of the season

Mumbai Indians (MI) captain Rohit Sharma roared back to form with a match-winning half-century as MI won a close encounter against the depleted Royal Challengers Bangalore to virtually book their place in the playoffs. Useful contributions by AB de Villiers and Pawan Negi propelled RCB to a score of 162 after batting first, while Mitchell McCleghan was the pick of the MI bowlers finishing with 3 wickets.

Jos Buttler got MI off to a flying start as MI looked in complete command. A middle-order stutter left the hosts in a precarious position but it was the match winning innings from the blade of Rohit Sharam which helped Mumbai win their 8th match of the campaign. With 16 points from 10 games, MI retains their position in the points table.

Winning the toss Virat Kohli opted to bat. Mandeep Singh was promoted up the order and came out to begin proceedings with Kohli. He began with a boundary through the cover region of Mitchell McCleneghan and added one more in the 4th delivery. Mandeep struck another boundary of Lasith Malinga and Kohli too joined in the act with a six of Karn Sharma in the 4th over.

Mandeep fell in the same over as his attempted slog sweep carried to the fielder stationed in the deep mid-wicket boundary. Kohli then smashed Jasprit Bumrah for a sensational six over the long-on boundary but failed to carry on and was dismissed pretty cheaply in the next over by McCleneghan. AB de Villiers joined Travis Head in the middle and after a couple of dot balls, Mr. 360 smashed the left-arm seamer for a six and a four over backward point and fine leg.

The superstar looked in complete command and took on the Mumbai bowlers with disdain. He smashed boundaries at will and struck a six and a four of Krunal Pandya. Meanwhile, the left-arm tweaker bagged the wicket of Travis Head in the 11th over. After getting smashed at the hands of the Modern great, Krunal came back strongly and sent the dangerous batsman back to the pavilion in his very next over.

He smashed a six in the first delivery but Krunal came back strongly to dislodge the most important batsman of the team. He attempted a slog sweep but top edged it straight up in the air. Bumrah stationed in short fine leg region completed a simple catch. Bumrah bagged the wicket of Watson in the 15th over and from there on the boundaries dried up.

Pawan Negi pressed on the accelerator during the fag end of the innings and struck some lusty blows which propelled RCB to a score of 162/8 in their allotted 20 overs. Kedar Jadhav also chipped in with a 28 of 22 deliveries. McClenghan was the pick of the MI bowlers finishing with 3 wickets while Krunal continued his wicket taking form and bagged a couple.

Chasing a moderate target, Mumbai was jolted in the very first delivery as Aniket Chaudhary hurried Parthiv Patel with his pace and bound and the southpaw gave away a simple catch while attempting a pull. Nitish Rana came in at the fall of Parthiv’s wicket and looked in good touch from the outset. Both batsmen started taking on the RCB bowling and they succeeded every single time. By the end of the 4th over, MI raced to 36/1, with both batsmen smashing 3 boundaries each.

Buttler smashed a monstrous six of Yuzvendra Chahal in the final delivery of the 6th over as MI reached 55/1 at the end of the powerplay overs. Left-arm spinner Pawan Negi brought about Buttler’s downfall in the 8th over as the batsman chipped a fullish length delivery straight to the cover fielder. It was a soft dismissal, to say the least.

Captain Rohit Sharma roared back to form with a sensational half-century which helped MI chase the total down in the penultimate delivery of the final over. He looked in good touch and struck a couple of boundaries to ease the nerves. Meanwhile, Nitish Rana and Kieron Pollard fell in quick succession as MI were reduced to 98/4.

Rohit kept MI in the hunt and smashed Aniket for a couple of boundaries off the final two deliveries of the 15th over. His partner Karn Sharma was dismissed in the 17th as Hardik Pandya came to join his captain. It was his six in the final delivery of the 18th over of Sreenath Arvind which brought the calculation down to 18 of the last 2. Rohit Sharma then smashed Aniket Chaudhary for a big six in the 19th over to bring the calculation down to 6 required of the final over.

First four deliveries yielded four singles and Rohit finally struck a boundary off the 5th ball to finish the match off. The victory also means MI has now virtually booked their place in the playoffs.

Brief Scores

Royal Challengers Bangalore 162/8 in 20 overs (AB de Villiers 43, Pawan Negi 35, Mitchell McCleneghan 3/34, Krunal Pandya 2/34)

Mumbai Indians 165/5 in 19.5 overs (Rohit Sharma 56*. Jos Buttler 33, Pawan Negi 2/17)

Mumbai Indians won by 5 wickets (with a delivery to go)

Check out full scorecard here 

Check out points table here