Abu Dhabi: A fiery knock of 79 in 43 balls under pressure and disciplined bowling by Jasprit Bumrah guided Mumbai Indians (MI) to a five-wicket win against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in 48th match of the Indian Premier League 2020 at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium on Wednesday.
MI won the toss and opted to bowl. After being sent in to bat, RCB opener Devdutt Padikkal and Joshua Philippe who had put the MI bowlers in a spot of bother after a great start in the Powerplay. The duo added 71 runs for the first wicket before Philippe was removed on 33 off 24 balls. Padikkal continued his fine form and notched up a sensational 74 off 45 balls laced with 12 fours and a six. However, RCB’s middle-order failed to capitalize on the good start as the likes of Virat Kohli (9) and AB de Villiers (15) fell cheaply leaving them struggling to put up a good total of 164 runs for the loss of six wickets in the stipulated 20 overs. For Mumbai Indians, Jasprit Bumrah was the pick of the bowlers, accounting for three dismissals while Trent Boult, Deepak Chahar and Pollard took one wicket each.
Chasing a modest target of 165, MI started the proceedings well in the run-chase as openers Quinton de Kock (18) and Ishan Kishan (25) added 37 runs for the first wicket. Yadav then took charge after coming out to bat at number 3. he added 35 runs for the 4th wicket with Krunal Pandya (10) before sharing a match-winning 51-run partnership for the fifth wicket with Hardik Pandya, who scored 17 off 15 balls. Yadav scored an unbeaten knock of 79 runs laced with ten fours and three sixes – his highest individual score in IPL. He finished the proceedings for MI with a boundary off the first ball from Mohammed Siraj in the final over to seal the deal for his side. Mumbai won the match by scoring 166 runs for 5 wickets in 19.1 overs.
Mumbai remains on top in the points table. At the same time, he has also confirmed his place in the play-offs with 16 points.