Hardik Pandya was a relative unknown playing his first IPL season the last time Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) won at the Wankhede Stadium, back in May 2015. These days, Hardik is the Mumbai Indians (MI) captain, but despite a stellar all-round display from him and the long-awaited return of Jasprit Bumrah, the home side slipped to a fourth defeat of the season. They remain eighth in the table, while RCB’s third win lifted them to top 3 - level on points with Delhi Capitals and Gujarat Titans.
Virat Kohli, who clubbed Bumrah’s second ball for six, and Rajat Patidar, the new captain, were the architects of RCB’s imposing 221/5 total, though it was Jitesh Sharma who provided the late impetus with a blazing, unbeaten 19-ball 40. Josh Hazlewood and Suyash Sharma were taken for runs in one over apiece, but otherwise bowled immaculately as Patidar rang the bowling changes to great effect.
When Hardik walked out to bat, MI appeared doomed, needing 123 runs from the last eight overs. But his arrival also seemed to spur Tilak Varma, asked to retire out during the last match in Lucknow. With both men matching each other stroke for stroke, even the usually accurate Josh Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar got a caning. Hardik also found time to smash two sixes off Krunal, his older sibling, as he and Tilak added 89 in just 34 balls.
But just when a heist seemed likely, RCB’s experienced pacers turned the tables. Bhuvneshwar’s slower ball saw Tilak (56 off 29 balls) miscue a slash over point, and Hazlewood then summoned up a leg-stump yorker that Hardik (42 off 15) could only loft as far as deep midwicket. Krunal took three wickets in the final over for good measure as a disconsolate Hardik looked on. MI’s margin of defeat, 12 runs, was the same as in their previous game.
Kohli produced a flurry of shots after Phil Salt’s early dismissal, and his 91-run partnership with Devdutt Padikkal (37 off 22) was instrumental in RCB taking control. By the time Kohli fell – he crossed 13,000 T20 runs when he got to 17, the second-fastest to the milestone after Chris Gayle – Patidar was ready with his assortment of lofts, deflections and ramps. He and Jitesh smashed 69 off just 27 balls. Only Bumrah was spared a hammering on a night when the new-ball pair of Trent Boult and Deepak Chahar went for 86 in six overs.
Hardik, who dismissed both Kohli and Liam Livingstone to reach 200 wickets in the format, was the pick of Mumbai’s bowlers till he was taken for 23 in his final over. He may also have erred with his captaincy, bowling Will Jacks in the Powerplay and giving Vignesh Puthur just one over despite him getting Padikkal caught on the rope. With four sixes and three fours, he did his best to make amends with the bat, but as in Lucknow a few nights ago, it wasn’t quite enough.
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