IPL 2018: Rohit Sharma lets loose as Mumbai Indians beat Royal Challengers Bangalore for first win of season

Ajit Vijaykumar 22:47 17/04/2018
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    • Rohit Sharma missed a century by six runs. Image: BCCI

    Mumbai Indians finally got their first win of IPL 2018 after three defeats as they overpowered Royal Challengers Bangalore by 46 runs at the Wankhede Stadium on Tuesday.

    Batting first, Mumbai lost two wickets to Bangalore quick Umesh Yadav off the first two balls of the match but captain Rohit Sharma led a remarkable counter attack to take the total to 213 for six with the tournament highest knock of 94.

    In reply, Bangalore kept losing wickets and fell well short of the target as they were restricted to 167-8.

    GREAT START FOR BANGALORE

    Royal Challengers pacer Yadav has been in fine form this IPL, attacking the stumps a lot more than before. That strategy worked superbly on Tuesday as Yadav first uprooted the off stump of Suryakumar Yadav before castling Ishan Kishan off the first two deliveries off the match. He got the new ball to move just enough to find the gap between bat and pad as Bangalore drew first blood.

    MUMBAI REBUILD

    The wicket at Wankhede is true, which means batsman can up the scoring rate at any point. Opening batsman Evin Lewis hit his way out of trouble as he raced to 65 from just 42 deliveries with six fours and five sixes. He played and missed a few times against leg spinner Yuzvendra Chahal but still added 108 with his captain .

    Rohit was in imperious form, belting 10 fours and five sixes as he missed a deserved century by six runs when he hit Corey Anderson straight down long-on’s throat off the penultimate ball of the innings.

    McCLENAGHAN GETS GOING

    Mumbai left-arm seamer Mitchell McClenghan had gone unsold during the player auction. But injury to pacer Jason Behrendorff meant a late call-up for the Kiwi quick. He proved his worth on Tuesday as he accounted for the dangerous South Africa pair of Quinton de Kock (bowled) and AB de Villiers (caught at mid-wicket) in his second over itself.

    Mumbai already have a world class left arm seamer in Mustafizur Rahman but McClenaghan held his own on a true pitch to deliver the killer blow.

    KOHLI FIGHTS A LONE BATTLE

    Bangalore captain Virat Kohli was on a mission. Earlier he got into an altercation with the umpires after Hardik Pandya’s out decision was overturned. And after Mumbai picked the first five Bangalore wickets for less than 100, it was up to the Bangalore captain to keep the fight going.

    He ended up with 92 not out opening the innings but with hardly any support from the rest of the batsmen, defeat was inevitable. Even so, his innings off 62 balls that included seven fours and four sixes should give him enough confidence as a batsman. However, it’s the pressure of captaincy that will bother him following the team’s third defeat from four games.

    On a personal note, there was some consolation for Kohli as he overtook Suresh Raina as the highest scorer in IPL history. Kohli now has 4,619 runs from 153 matches in IPL.

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