NEW DELHI: Royal Challengers Bengaluru produced a convincing all-round performance to outclass Mumbai Indians by 18 runs in a high-scoring IPL clash at the Wankhede. Buoyed by explosive half-centuries from Phil Salt, Virat Kohli and skipper Rajat Patidar, RCB posted a massive 240/4 which MI could not fully chase down despite a late resistance led by Sherfane Rutherford.RCB came out swinging from the start, Kohli setting the tone in typical style, including a stunning six early on. Phil Salt then took charge and launched the MI attack with a fearless pull game, punishing both pace and spin as he raced to 78 from just 36 balls.
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How Justin Langer’s faith helped Mukul Choudhary shineAn opening stand of 120 put MI on the back foot immediately.Even when MI tried changing bowlers, nothing worked. Salt smashed Mitchell Santner for three consecutive sixes while Mayank Markande was dismantled. Finally, Shardul Thakur broke through by dismissing Salt but the damage was already done.Rajat Patidar then came in and went into full attack mode, smashing a 17-ball fifty and continuing the carnage with clean shots across the infield. Kohli held one end steady, bringing up his fifty before falling in the 15th over after scoring 50 off 37 balls. Tim David then added a quick-fire unbeaten 34 to push RCB to a daunting 240.
MI falls behind at the end
Despite a decent start, Mumbai Indians’ chase never quite settled down. Ryan Rickelton looked promising with 37 off 22 but wickets at crucial times derailed the momentum. Rohit Sharma’s injury further damaged their balance early on.Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya tried to recover but the RCB bowlers struck at regular intervals. Krunal Pandya’s tight spell and Suyash Sharma’s breakthroughs in the middle overs ensured that MI never got a real starting panel, going several overs without a six during the crucial phase.The only real resistance came late on from Sherfan Rutherford, who smashed an unbeaten 71 off 31 balls with a flurry of sixes to reduce the lead. However, the target of 241 proved too steep and MI ended up on 222/5.In the end, RCB’s supreme firepower and early dominance sealed a comfortable 18-run victory in a run-fest at the Wankhede.
