The second game at the iconic Wankhede Stadium between Mumbai Indians (MI) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) belonged to the hosts who finally were able to register themselves in the points table of Indian Premier League (IPL).
Mumbai posted a total of 213 for the loss of six wickets in 20 overs. Chasing yet another total of above 210, Virat Kohli lost partners regularly as the captain was left unsupported at the other end.
Krunal Pandya and Mitchell McClenaghan kept chipping in with wickets in clumps which put the visitors on the backfoot.
In the end, the host were handed a massive victory of 46 runs as Rohit Sharma was awarded as the Man of the Match for his superb performance.
Let us look at the game-changing moments of the match for MI:
Umesh Yadav rocking Mumbai’s boat upfront:
Following his Man of the Match performance against Kings XI Punjab, Umesh Yadav went for plenty in the Royals Derby. Also, following his unpredictability, Umesh sent back Mumbai Indians’ openers in the first couple of deliveries of the match.
The Vidarbha Express cleaned up Suryakumar Yadav‘s off stump using a fast incoming delivery, for a golden duck.
Subsequently, the left-hander, Ishan Kishan received another incoming ball which cleaned him up in style.
Mumbai Indians, on a losing streak, received a couple of early jolts as they lost two wickets in the first two deliveries of the match.
Evin Lewis’ counter-attack:
With the score at 0-2, West Indian opener, Evin Lewis appeared unperturbed as he played in his normal counter-attacking fashion, instigating the MI revival.
Lewis was unstoppable for his 65 which came off just 42 deliveries.
In his knock, he smashed six maximums to register himself in the leaderboard for the most number of sixes this IPL, along with fellow Windies, Andre Russell, and Dwyane Bravo.
Rohit Sharma’s captain knock:
Captain Rohit Sharma first stitched a game-changing partnership of 108 runs in just 11 overs with Lewis. Then, the Hitman took it upon himself – to deliver the knockout punch in the end with his supreme knock.
Rohit smashed a 52-ball 94 at his favourite position of number four in franchise cricket. Sharma struck a mammoth 10 boundaries and five sixes to entertain his home crowd.
The mumbai-based outfit was able to post a target above 200 due to the fireworks from their captain and Hardik Pandya in the end.
McClenaghan cleaning up the Proteans:
RCB looked determined to not repeat their mistakes against Royals in a run chase. Quinton de Kock and captain Virat Kohli looked to utilize the powerplay with their strokeplay.
But it all changed after Mitchell McClenaghan was introduced into the attack. In one over, he first removed the dangerous looking Quinton de Kock.
The Kiwi then removed the other Proteas in the RCB lineup by the name of AB de Villiers, who hold out at square leg.
Two wickets by McClenaghan in the powerplay, put MI in a commanding position.
Krunal Pandya’s spell:
After a rare failure with the bat in the tournament, Krunal Pandya ensured that he broke the back of RCB’s middle=order with three priceless wickets.
Two of them came in a single over off successive deliveries, (dismissals of Mandeep Singh and Corey Anderson), which turned out to be the game point for MI.
Moreover, he then came back to dismiss Washington Sundar. Krunal ends up with the exemplary figures of three for 28 in his quota of four overs.
Also read: IPL 2018: Me Batting at Four Gives the Balance to The Side: Rohit Sharma