IPL 2018 | Rohit Sharma heroics lead Mumbai Indians to first win in IPL 2018

Brief Scores: Mumbai Indians 213/6 (Rohit Sharma 94, Evin Lewis 65; Umesh Yadav 2/36, Corey Anderson 2/47) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore 167/5 (Virat Kohli 92, Quinton de Kock 19; Krunal Pandya 3/28, Mitchell McClenaghan 2/24) by 46 runs.

Amidst fierce criticism following a winless run in the first three games, Mumbai Indians managed to get the most nightmarish start possible in the crunch game against Bangalore. RCB’s new recruit, Umesh Yadav, who have been blowing hot and cold in this season of the IPL so far, scalped two wickets in his first two balls to send Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan packing. With two in-form batsmen returning to the pavilion, skipper Rohit Sharma came in to take charge. With the fielding restrictions still in place, both Rohit and Evin Lewis had to start hitting even before getting settled following an early calamity. But, the two power-hitters still managed to add a decent 60 runs in the first six overs to keep the hosts on right track. Though the introduction of spinners, Yuzvendra Chahal and Washington Sundar, helped check the run rate to some extent, the batting duo exploited pacers at every opportunity. Lewis hit two consecutive sixes to Chahal, in the tenth over, to bring up Mumbai’s 100-run stand before falling prey to Corey Anderson in the next over. However, Rohit had been settled by then and alongside Krunal Pandya, took the scoreboard to over 140 in 15 overs before Pandya was sent back to the dug-out by Anderson. It was followed by a blank cameo by Kieron Pollard before Hardik Pandya came to take strike. And the hard hitter got an instant lifeline as the third umpire overturned his dismissal despite Ultraedge showing a clear spike. Hardik and Rohit ensured Mumbai crossed the 200-run mark before Rohit eventually got out at 92 runs.

Kohli had left the field infuriated after the first innings after Pandya’s dismissal was overturned controversially and the anger looked to enable the skipper to a blistering start as RCB took seven runs from Jasprit Bumrah’s opening over. Krunal Pandya was taken to the boundary thrice in the second over by Kohli and de Kock as the batsmen got into the flow fast. RCB had already added 40 runs in four overs when de Kock’s wicket was uprooted by Mitchell McClenaghan in the next over. The blow to RCB became all the bigger when AB de Villiers returned to pavillion two balls later, leaving Kohli in man’s land. Proven IPL batsman, Mandeep Singh, came in next to support Kohli at the crease but RCB could add 76 runs in 10 overs. While RCB had kept the run rate somewhat close, Mumbai Indians had managed to see off Mandeep and hard-hitter Anderson by the match reached halfway line. The second half of the game needed some heroic display by Kohli to take the team over the line but his terrific display on one end hardly got support from Washington Sundar and Sarfaraz Khan, who were reduced to mere passengers. Though Chris Woakes looked to connect well coming down the batting order, it had been too late by then with the chase developing into an impossible task. Players came and went one after the other with Kohli standing strong in the other, ending unbeaten at 92, as RCB eventually finished their innings with 167/8, succumbing to a 47-run defeat.