In yesterday’s Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 match held at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) emerged victorious over the Mumbai Indians (MI) by eight wickets. MI, after losing the toss, had a slow start but recovered well to set a competitive target of 171/7, majorly due to Tilak Varma’s impressive unbeaten knock of 84 off 46 balls.
In response, RCB’s opening pair of Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis put up an incredible partnership of 148 runs, with Kohli remaining unbeaten at 82 off 49 deliveries and du Plessis scoring a brilliant 73 off 43 balls. With this outstanding performance, RCB managed to chase down the target in just 16.2 overs, securing a comfortable victory over MI.
During the opening partnership, it was Faf du Plessis who was the more aggressive of the two, hitting Jason Behrendorff for a four and two sixes in the third over. A crucial moment came in the game during the fourth over when Jofra Archer dropped a return catch offered by Kohli. In the very same over, Kohli smashed a slower ball over long-off for a maximum.
In the eighth over, when Cameron Green was brought into the attack, du Plessis attacked him by hitting two fours and a six. Kohli, on the other hand, played a patient innings and reached his half-century in 38 deliveries. However, the RCB captain also joined the party and brought up his fifty in style by hitting Hrithik Shokeen for a six over wide long.
The brilliant opening partnership finally came to an end when Faf du Plessis was caught at long-on while trying to hit Arshad Khan out of the park. Dinesh Karthik, who came in after du Plessis’ dismissal, got out for a duck to Cameron Green.
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However, Virat Kohli continued his sublime form and brought home the victory for RCB in a grand style by hitting Arshad Khan for a six over long-on.
Tilak Varma’s Spectacular Performance Rescues MI from a Slow Start
In the IPL match between MI and RCB, Mumbai Indians had a poor start with the bat, losing four wickets for 48 runs in under nine overs. Ishan Kishan was the first to depart after being caught at deep third man off Mohammed Siraj’s delivery. Reece Topley took down Cameron Green with a full and straight delivery, but he hurt his shoulder while fielding and had to leave the match.
MI skipper Rohit Sharma, who was out of sorts, played a poor stroke and was caught behind off Akash Deep after scoring only one run off ten balls. Suryakumar Yadav’s poor run with the bat continued as he slashed a delivery from Michael Bracewell to backward point.
However, Tilak Varma and Nehal Wadhera formed a promising partnership and added 50 runs for the fifth wicket, giving Mumbai’s innings some direction. Despite the early setbacks, Varma’s spectacular unbeaten knock of 84* off just 46 balls lifted MI to a competitive total of 171/7.
Varma played a pivotal role in boosting MI’s score, singlehandedly. He achieved his half-century in just 32 balls, with a powerful six over deep square leg off Akash Deep’s delivery. In the final over, he hit a four and a six off Harshal Patel’s bowling, securing a respectable total for MI to defend.
RCB vs MI: Who won Man of the Match in Yesterday’s IPL Match
RCB’s Karn Sharma was successful in taking two wickets, removing Wadhera and David. However, Du Plessis and Kohli displayed an outstanding performance during RCB’s pursuit.
In contrast, Varma was the only notable performer for MI, scoring an unbeaten 84 that included four sixes and nine fours.
The outstanding knock played by the Bangalore captain, Du Plessis, earned him the Player of the Match title.
