Incredible death bowling from Tim Southee (2-25) helped the Royal Challengers Bangalore defend a target of 168 as they beat the Mumbai Indians by 14 runs, despite a 42-ball 50 by Hardik Pandya in Bengaluru.
Virat Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bangalore struggled again to put a decent total on the board. The home side, missing AB de Villiers due to a viral infection, only managed to post a sub-par target of 168 with Manan Vohra’s 45 the highest score for RCB.
Brendon McCullum (37 off 25 balls) and Kohli (32 off 26 balls) got their side over the 100-run mark after losing two wickets for 61, scoring 60 for the third wicket before McCullum lost his wicket. The hosts struggled to accelerate from there; they went from 121-3 to 167-7 in their last five and a half overs.
The Mumbai Indians, after electing to bowl first, had a horrid start. They found themselves four down with 47 on the board. JP Duminy fluffed his chance to be his side’s hero when he called a second and was run out for 23.
Hardik Pandya managed to score a half-century, but for the first time this campaign, RCB bowled excellently at the death, conceding only 20 runs in the final three overs and taking two key wickets. Krunal Pandya (23) was dismissed by Mandeep Singh and RCB’s key bowler Southee dismissed Hardik.
Southee finished with 2-25 as RCB sealed a 14-run victory.
MI need to win their remaining matches to stand a chance of making the playoffs while RCB need to win five of their last six games to stand a chance of qualifying for the playoffs.
Photo by: Faheem Hussain /SPORTZPICS/BCCI
