As far as the big picture is concerned, Jasprit Bumrah’s return to the cricket field three months after he last played for India was undoubtedly the highlight at the Wankhede on Monday night. But in terms of the Indian Premier League (IPL), even the return of their talisman couldn’t prevent Mumbai Indians (MI) slipping to their fourth defeat of the season. Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) hadn’t won at the iconic venue since 2015, but half-centuries from Virat Kohli and Rajat Patidar and a blistering cameo from Jitesh Sharma were backed by bowling that came good when it mattered to clinch a 12-run victory.
They were, however, given an almighty scare by Hardik Pandya (42 off 15 balls) and Tilak Varma (56 off 29), who added 89 for the fifth wicket in just 34 balls, with some absolutely breathtaking hitting. Tilak, made to retire out after his struggles in the last game in Lucknow, took 17 from Suyash Sharma’s final over, and Pandya then climbed into Josh Hazlewood, thumping two sixes and two fours.
Two more sixes followed off Krunal, his older brother, before Tilak bludgeoned a six and four off Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Suddenly, the equation was down to a very manageable 52 off the last four overs. They took 11 from Yash Dayal’s final over, but the experience of Bhuvneshwar transformed the game in the 18th over. Tilak tried to flay a slower ball over point, but Phil Salt, running in from the rope, made no mistake.
When Pandya then slogged a Hazlewood yorker to deep mid-wicket, that was pretty much that. There was still time for Krunal to take three wickets in the final over even as his younger sibling watched glumly from the other dugout.
Bumrah didn’t take a wicket, and Kohli flicked his second ball for six over mid-wicket, but save for another maximum from Jitesh in the final over, he was his usual miserly self. The same couldn’t be said of the new-ball pairing of Trent Boult and Deepak Chahar, who were carted for a combined 86 in six overs. Boult had given MI a dream start by cleaning up Salt second ball, and he then got Patidar — Ryan Rickelton taking a marvellous running catch after a ramp behind — with the last ball of his spell, but he was also taken for four sixes and six fours as RCB showed off their batting might.
Kohli, who struck eight fours and two sixes in a 42-ball 67, set the tone, and his 91-run partnership with Devdutt Padikkal (37 off 22) spanned just 52 balls as RCB seized control. Padikkal fell to the left-arm wrist-spin of Vignesh Puthur, strangely given only one over, but Patidar and Kohli then added 48 to keep up the momentum. Though Liam Livingstone fell cheaply to Hardik, Jitesh and Patidar savaged the bowling in the final stages.
Pandya’s final over went for 23, while Boult’s last two went for 33. The two added 69 in just 27 balls before Patidar (64 from 32 balls) fell in the penultimate over. Jitesh remained unconquered on 40 (19 balls). A total of 221 seemed just above par, but the bowlers still needed to do the job with the new ball.
Rohit Sharma, on as impact sub for Vignesh, crashed two fours and a six before Dayal swung one through bat and pad. Rickelton also made 17 before Hazlewood trapped him in front — RCB reviewed the not-out decision — to stem the momentum. Hazlewood’s first two overs went for just six, as both Suryakumar Yadav and Will Jacks struggled to keep up with the asking rate.
Jacks was finally caught in the deep off Krunal, and Suryakumar — already reprieved by a calamitous mix-up between Dayal and Jitesh — holed out to deep cover to leave MI reeling at 99/4 after 12 overs. From those depths, they rose again, but in-form RCB held their nerve at the crunch.
Brief scores: RCB 221/5 (Kohli 67, Patidar 64, Jitesh 40*, Hardik 2/45) beat MI 209/9 (Tilak 56, Hardik 42, Krunal 4/45) by 12 runs.
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