IPL 2023, MI vs RCB: SKY, Wadhera chase down 200 against RCB; MI move to third place in points table

IPL 2023, Mumbai Indians (MI) vs Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB): Suryakumar Yadav-Nehal Wadhera's 140-run stand, Faf du Plessis-Glenn Maxwell's 120-run stand and Jason Behrendorff's 3-36 are top performances. MI beat RCB and move to 3rd place in table.

IPL 2023, MI vs RCB, Top Performances_ Suryakumar Yadav scored 83 off 35 balls against RCB; MI beat RCB _ Walking wicket (Images_ ©BCCI_Twitter)

SKY scored 83 off 35 balls against RCB (Images: ©IPL/Twitter)

Brief Scores: Mumbai Indians 200-4 (Suryakumar 83, Nehal 52, Vijaykumar 2-37, Wanindu 2-53) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore 199-6 (Glenn 68, Du Plessis 65, Behrendorff 3-36, Cameron 1-15) by 6 wickets

Player of the Match: Suryakumar Yadav (83 off 35)

The 54th fixture of the TATA IPL 2023 between Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore got underway at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. This was a crucial game as both sides desperately needed a win to keep their playoff hopes alive.

Mumbai Indians clinch a thrilling victory against RCB in the IPL match

After being sent in to bat first, RCB got off to a wobbly loss of Kohli and Rawat in quick succession. Jason Behrendorff was the man who inflicted the early damage and pushed the visiting side back on the back foot. Du Plessis and Maxwell got into their act together and launched a scathing attack against the MI bowlers putting up 120 runs for the third wicket. RCB were racing along nicely and whilst they were trying to up the ante, Behrendorff struck yet again as Maxwell holed out to deep mid-wicket for 68. Yet another blow then jolted RCB when they lost Lomror for just 1 reducing them to 143-4 inside 14 overs. With wickets tumbling at one end, Dinesh Karthik’s quick cameo of 30 (18) ensured that RCB got close to the 200-run mark.

In reply, Ishan Kishan gave MI an electrifying start taking the home side to 34-0 in just 3 overs. However, two quick wickets of Kishan and Sharma in the space of two balls fractionally slowed down the MI innings. Suryakumar Yadav (83 off 35) and Nehal Wadhera (52 off 34) took charge as they put on a staggering 120 runs stand for the third wicket-taking and powered MI to an unassailable 6-wicket victory. RCB bowlers could not make early inroads into the MI batting lineup and threw it away by leaking a lot of runs.

Talking Points; Rohit’s continuous failure doing no good to MI’s star batting lineup; Surya, and Kishan doing the heavy lifting.

It was another forgettable night for the MI skipper Rohit Sharma who again failed with the bat today. He couldn’t get going and was trapped on the pads by Wanidu Hasaranga for a shambolic score of 7. His poor show with the bat has become so clear that he bagged of the most embarrassing records in the history of IPL, having 16 ducks to his name. With Rohit not being able to play his part, the onus is now on the untested middle order to do the bulk of the scoring. MI could not get off to rollicking starts this season as their key batsman has poorly faltered at the top of the order.

This has created a lot of pressure on the other batters as they need to step in to fill the void created by him. Such a gap in the batting lineup may not be sustainable in the long run and MI may have to pay a heavy price as they continue to progress to the fag end of the league.

Top performances from MI vs RCB, Mumbai

IPL 2023, MI vs RCB, Top Performances_ Glenn Maxwell-Faf du Plessis put on 120-run stand for 3rd wicket against MI; MI beat RCB _ Walking wicket (Images_ ©BCCI_Twitter)

Maxwell-Faf put on 120-run stand for 3rd wicket against MI (Images: ©IPL/Twitter)

Faf & Maxwell’s scintillating show with the bat

Faf du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell walked out to bat when RCB were reeling at 16-2 and were in a spot of bother. MI bowlers including Behrendorff had their tails up and really had a go at the RCB batters. The duo then got into the rescue act and steadied the ship for RCB. Soon after they unleashed their fury and started playing entertaining shots all around the ground. The duo added a massive 120 runs for the third wicket in the space of just 61 balls. Chawla and Jordan had their bowling figures destroyed at well over 11 RPO. Maxwell scored 68 (33) which included 8 fours and 4 sixes whereas Faf du Plessis scored 65 (41) which included 5 fours and 3 sixes.

Suryakumar Yadav and Nehal Wadhera blew RCB away

Suryakumar Yadav and Nehal Wadhera played a swashbuckling innings of 83 (35) and 52 (34), respectively. They tore into RCB's bowling lineup and showed no mercy in taking the attack to them. Surya sprung to life and played a blinder of innings scoring at a record-breaking strike rate. Nehal too chipped in with useful runs and scored at a slightly modest strike rate of x. He let SKY be the aggressor as he was middling nearly every ball for six. The duo gave a lot of nightmares to the RCB bowlers as they appeared absolutely clueless in containing the sheer carnage inflicted by the two.

IPL 2023, MI vs RCB, Top Performances_ Jason Behrendorff took 3-36 against RCB; MI beat RCB _ Walking wicket (Images_ ©BCCI_Twitter)

Jason Behrendorff's clinical show with the ball does the trick for MI

Jason Behrendorff was the pick of the MI bowlers picking up 3/36 in his allotted 4 overs. Whilst his counterparts were getting dispatched to all parts, Jason kept a tight lid on the scoring rate conceding at just around 9 RPO. He bowled with the new ball very well by removing the chase master for 1 and then bamboozling Rawat for 6. He came back strongly in his second spell and picked up the prize scalp of Glenn Maxwell who was taking his power-hitting show to a whole new level.

Points Table Scenario and What’s Next

Following their win in today’s fixture, MI jump to the number 5 spot whilst their NRR has substantially improved to -0.255. They will head face GT in their upcoming fixture on May 12. Whereas, RCB had a disappointing outing tonight and have slipped to the number 7 position whilst their NRR has substantially degraded to -0.345. They will now play their next game against RR in Jaipur on May 14.

IPL 2023 Points Table