Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma led from the front to guide his team to a five-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.
Chasing a modest 162, the two-time champions went off to a disastrous start, as their in-form opener Parthiv Patel was dismissed for a golden duck by Aniket Choudhary.
Jos Buttler and Nitish Rana then set the tone for the chase with a 61-run stand before the dangerous Buttler was sent back by Pawan Negi. Nine runs later, the left-arm spinner struck once again removing Rana to leave the hosts reeling at 70 for three in the ninth over.
The hosts were dealt a further setback when Kieron Pollard returned to the hut after scoring only 17 while Krunal Pandya retired hurt for two after aggravating a hip injury that he had sustained while fielding but skipper Rohit Sharma was holding firm from the other end.
The India opener remained unbeaten on 56 and was well-supported by Hardik Pandya, as the hosts chased down the total with a ball remaining.
Earlier, handy cameos from AB de Villiers (43), Kedar Jadhav (28) and Pawan Negi ( 35) had propelled the Royal Challengers to 162 for eight in the allotted 20 overs.
The visitors were in a spot of bother after losing both their openers with just 40 on the board before de Villiers and Travis Head steadied the ship with a 45-run stand.
But their innings was once looking to get derailed after de Villiers, Head and Watson departed in quick succession, leaving their team reeling at 108 for five. Jadhav and Negi then took the Royal Challengers to a respectable total with a partnership of 54 runs.
Here is how Twitter reacted to the match:
Good to see @ImRo45 back in form. Just right for @mipaltan at the tail end of the tournament. Next, need to use @hardikpandya7 more
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) May 1, 2017
Pawan Negi continues a wonderful comeback. Happy to see he is leaving that unproductive phase behind. Was it the pressure of the price tag?
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) May 1, 2017
Rohit has played a captain's knock in this game, came good at the time when his team needed him. Another win in bag for #MI #MIvRCB
— Rohit Sharma FanClub (@ImRo45_FC) May 1, 2017
MI WIN!! Go on top of the table and almost seal the Playoff berth. #MIvRCB ?
— Nikhil Mane ??? (@nikhiltait) May 1, 2017
Rohit Sharma just smashed a six of fast bowler…
The Shot is Slog Sweep with knee down
— Broken Cricket (@BrokenCricket) May 1, 2017
4000 runs in #IPL for Rohit Sharma. 4th player to do so. He is the slowest among the 4 to get to the milestone. #MIvRCB
— Sampath Bandarupalli (@SampathStats) May 1, 2017
RCB's total score so far in this IPL season: 1407 Runs..
Virat Kohli's total score in last IPL season: 973 Runs..
— Broken Cricket (@BrokenCricket) May 1, 2017
Gritty Negi and Jadhav breathed some life into match with lusty blows in death overs. Without a good start 163 may yet be tricky for Mumbai
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) May 1, 2017
Once Shane Watson was one of the best all-rounders in T20/ODI cricket. Now he is nothing more than Australia's Stuart Binny #IPL
— Shubh Aggarwal (@shubh_chintak) May 1, 2017
4! That's fourth time Krunal Pandya has got @ABdeVilliers17 out! #IPL Well done.
— Nikhil 🏏 (@CricCrazyNIKS) May 1, 2017
RCB's tag line #PlayBold but that should be #playBowled . Poor #RCB
. Well played #MI . #MIvRCB— Aritra Paul (@AritraPaul20) May 1, 2017