Suryakumar Yadav had his greatest IPL performance to date on Tuesday (May 9), as Mumbai Indians defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore and moved up to third place. Ishan Kishan gave MI, who was chasing 200, the opportunity to immediately go on the rampage. Upon his departure, Suryakumar and Nehal Wadhera assumed control and stunned the opposition by adding 140 runs for the third wicket.
Two dramatic powerplays
The beginning of each team’s powerplay innings was quite identical to the other. Virat Kohli edged one through to the keeper while attempting to take on Jason Behrendorff, while Anuj Rawat mistimed another to leave the pitch early, dealing a blow to the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). The away team, particularly Faf du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell, went completely insane, so those two wickets did not dissuade them. Even the arrival of Piyush Chawla couldn’t put an end to the two batters’ desire to make the most of the powerplay.
Ishan Kishan, on the other hand, drove MI insane during the run-and-gun pursuit. The first ball, the under-fire Rohit Sharma stepped down the track to smash a boundary, but Ishan stole the show. He engaged Mohammed Siraj and Josh Hazlewood, landing some shocking blows that compelled du Plessis to insert Wanindu Hasaranga early. Ishan faced off against the Sri Lankan spinner in an effort to go to 42, but by ejecting the opener, he emerged victorious. Hasaranga also trapped Rohit lbw to compound his problems, which helped RCB reverse the tide in the same over. RCB made 62, so the harm has already been done.
Maxwell-Faf’s entertainment
If RCB was revived by the two hitters during the powerplay, they then pressed the gas pedal harder. Maxwell greeted Chris Jordan, who was making his MI debut, to the crease with two sixes. The Australian all-rounder then approached Chawla from down the track and hit him over the head before making a remarkable 25-ball fifty. By the midway point, RCB had 104 on the board and was firmly in the lead. As RCB quickly reached 131 in just 12 overs, Du Plessis hit a wide of mid-off, reached fifty off just 30 deliveries, and then faced Chawla for another six.
How did they not have more than 200?
MI did an excellent job of reining things in. The pitch did help the bowlers in the latter half of the innings when they took the pace off the ball, which MI took advantage of. Behrendorff returned and struck out Maxwell with a slower pitch to end the 120-run stand. After leaving the finishing tasks to Dinesh Karthik and Kedar Jadhav, Mahipal Lomror and the experienced du Plessis both succumbed. Jadhav did hit his first ball for a boundary, but he struggled to get going late in the game. Karthik produced a couple of lusty punches to score a critical 30, but RCB still managed only 68 runs in the remaining eight overs.
After Hasaranga’s double blow, how did MI bat?
It was almost as though nothing had happened. Wadhera signaled his intentions by pulling his second ball for a six. Harshal Patel was then dismissed for 11 runs in his first over. The game was still tense at the midway point, with MI needing 101 points from the following ten minutes. Suryakumar and Wadhera, on the other hand, flipped the switch quickly to put MI on top. Hasaranga let up a six to each batsman, while Suryakumar turned a strong over from Hazlewood into an ordinary over with consecutive boundaries at the conclusion. The boundaries continued to flow as du Plessis’ decision to rotate his bowlers failed miserably.
There is no rest at all
While MI produced a strong recovery with the ball in the second half, RCB had no such luck. The surface didn’t help them either, as Suryakumar put on a display, leaving Wadhera in his 40s stranded at the other end for a long time. Suryakumar smashed Hasaranga for two more sixes and went 6,4,6 off Vyshak Vijayakumar to end the chase. While the bowler did stop the maverick with only eight runs needed, Suryakumar had done his job by also scoring his greatest IPL score. Tim David was out on the first ball, but Wadhera delivered the knockout punch with another six, also completing back-to-back half-centuries.
What comes next?
A pumped-up MI team will host the Gujarat Titans next, and they will undoubtedly aim to chase again. RCB would be devastated by this defeat, and they now face a critical game against Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur. The loser of that game will have a very difficult time making the playoffs.