In a nailbiter where bowlers called the shots, Royal Challengers Bengaluru pipped Mumbai Indians by two wickets at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Raipur on Sunday.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s brilliance (4/23), after RCB won the toss and opted to bowl first, was massive in limiting Mumbai to 166/7. Thereafter, on a pitch that balanced it well for both bowlers and batters, Deepak Chahar (2/33) and Corbin Bosch (4/26) fared just as well to help Mumbai hit back.
But Krunal Pandya kept calm and braved cramps to compile a superb 73 off 46 balls, before Bhuvneshwar and his junior pace colleague Rasikh Salam took RCB home off the last ball in a dramatic final over.
Courtesy of this win, RCB, with 14 points and a superior net-run rate than Sunrisers Hyderabda and Gujarat Titans, went to the top of the table.
The result knocked Mumbai, and also Lucknow Super Giants, out of the playoffs race.
Following his 4/23, Bhuvneshwar did his bit with the bat too as he slammed a six off Raj Bawa when RCB needed 9 runs off the last three balls.
A single off the penultimate ball and then a two stolen off the final delivery sparked celebrations in the RCB camp, even as the Mumbai players were crestfallen.
Tenacity & character
Naman Dhir (47 off 32 balls) and Tilak Varma (57 off 42) were the chief contributors in Mumbai's total. But the one who out-batted all on Sunday night was RCB's Krunal, also a former Mumbai player. He came on to bat when RCB had lost Virat Kohli for nought once again and were wobbling at 39/3 in the sixth over.
The left-handed all-rounder built his innings well. The left-hander had to take his chances against spinner AM Ghazanfar in the 18th over. He was cramping and had a slice of luck too when miscommunication between Dhir and Tilak at the deep let him off when he mistimed a shot. Failure to complete that relay catch went on to cost Mumbai dear.
Wrong call
On top of his poor form, stand-in captain Suryakumar Yadav also perhaps erred in giving those extra overs to young Bawa, especially when he had the option of giving at least another over to Will Jacks, who was economical.
Bawa conceded 16 in the 14th over of the chase, which earned RCB momentum, and then, in the final over, bowled three wides and also misfielded off the last ball.
Right length
If Ryan Rickelton's shot was bad, Bhuvneshwar was excellent in producing the knuckle ball to dismiss a set Rohit Sharma before foxing Surya with one shaping away.
During that period, the 36-year-old was operating with two slips, which isn’t very common in T20s. Sixty per cent of his deliveries landed on the 6 to 8-metre length, making matters tougher for Mumbai batters.
