Finally, the Mumbai Indians earned the first match of this year’s IPL. And this was made possible after the Mumbai scored a massive 209 for 7 in stipulated 20 overs, and, in reply, the Bangalore Royal Challengers fell short by 18 runs. This was also RCB’s second loss from three matches.
Their only win was made possible against the Kolkata Knight Riders because of Chris Gayle’s overpowering influence. Unfortunately, the West Indies explosive opener couldn’t wield his magic against Mumbai on Sunday evening.
Even a lot was riding on RCB skipper Virat Kohli to come good. But he failed. Towards the end, AB de Villiers and David Wiese did try to power RCB hope with some breathtaking shots, but the asking rate was too high for them to change the complexion of the game.
In fact, Mumbai need to be complimented for the way they batted in this match. From opener Lendl Simmons, Unmukt Chand to Mumbai captain Rohit Sharma, all of them batted with extreme authority. Before their innings ended, even Hardik Pandya struck some lusty blows to take the Mumbai score to a match-winning position.
Without such a big score, Mumbai would have found it tough to register a win. That is because their bowling still remains a concern for the team. Barring experienced Harbhajan Singh, who took three wickets from the match, none of them had the skills to stop the RCB onslaught.
One of the best T20 bowlers Lasith Malinga was all over the place and conceded 43 runs from his four overs. In one the overs, the Sri Lankan pace gave away 24 runs.
From here, Mumbai quickly needs to fix their bowling problem before their next game. As far as the RCB is concerned, they will have to stop depending on Gayle and de Villiers all the time. Even their bowlers need to pull up their socks and ensure that they are hitting the right areas consistently.
