IPL 2021: RCB beats MI: AB de Villiers’ 27-ball 48 superhuman and Harshal Patel’s five-wicket draw helped RCB chase a 160-point target in the last ball to secure a winning start in the 2021 IPL. The skipper of the Royal Bangalore challengers Virat Kohli won the toss and sent Rohit Sharma’s Mumbai Indians to bat first. Despite Chris Lynn’s 49 years, Mumbai was only able to publish 159 in 20 overs.
On rather slow ground, RCB bowlers got off to a good start, keeping it tight. For Mumbai, despite two limitations, they lost Hitman Rohit Sharma at the start of the 4th. But Chris Lynn, back on the MI squad after being absent the entire IPL 2020 campaign, was on the song. His 49-point shot, laced with 4 fours and 3 sixes, both looked dangerous for RCB.
Also Read: IPL 2021: Harshal Patel Makes History Against Mumbai Indians, Becomes First Bowler to Pick 5 Wickets Against Rohit Sharma’s Team
However, Kyle Jamieson brought RCB back into the game with three good overs early on. As Suryakumar Yadav began to build on his strong start, Jamieson will soon be scalping him. MI quickly lost Lynn and Hardik Pandya which made it difficult to post a grand total. In the end, it was Harshal Patel’s fantastic 4-0-27-5 spell that helped RCB narrow Mumbai to 159/9 in 20 overs. It was also the first fife for a bowler against the Mumbai Indians.
In the chase, Kohli surprised many by bringing in Washington Sundar as the opening partner instead of Rajat Patidar. The duo got off to a good start after Rohit Sharma dropped Sundar on the second ball. But Krunal Pandya scalped Sundar in fifth place to give MI the breakthrough. Newbie Rajat Patidar didn’t last long either. Then Glenn Maxwell and Kohli anchored the sleeves.
But Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah and Marco Jansen brought Mumbai back into the game with quick wickets. However, AB de Villiers with a nice 27-ball 48 kept RCB in the game. Despite his late run-out, RCB managed to chase the target in the last ball, winning the match by 2 wickets. The defeat meant the Mumbai Indians’ opening game continued.
160/8 (20 ovs); Won by 2 wickets
RCB beat MI: 159/9 (20 ovs)
Here is the MI Squad for IPL 2021:
Rohit Sharma, Quinton de Kock (WK), Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan (WK), Chris Lynn, Anmolpreet Singh, Saurabh Tiwary, Aditya Tare, Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Anukul Royul, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult, Rah Chahar, Jayant Yadav, Dhawal Kulkarni, Mohsin Khan, Adam Milne, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Piyush Chawla, James Neesham, Yudhvir Charak, Marco Jansen, Arjun Tendulkar.
Here is the RCB squad for IPL 2021
Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Yuzvendra Chahal, Devdutt Padikkal, Navdeep Saini, Washington Sundar, Mohammed Siraj, Kane Richardson, Adam Zampa, Josh Philippe, Shahbaz Ahmed, Pavan Deshpande, Kyle Jamieson, Glenn Maxwell, Dan Christian, Sachin Baby, Rajat Patidar, Mohammed Azharuddeen, Suyash Prabhudesai, KS Bharat
