Kolkata: Royal Challengers Bangalore succumbed to yet another defeat and this time, it is the Mumbai Indians, who courtesy skipper Rohit Sharma’s masterclass went past Virat Kohli’s side by five wickets. In the other match of the day, Ben Stokes inspired Rising Pune Supergiant to a scintillating victory against the Gujarat Lions.
It was always going to be tough to beat Mumbai at the Wankhede Stadium and batting first, Virat Kohli and co. could only score 162 runs in their 20 overs. AB De Villiers (43), Pawan Negi (35) , Kedar Jadav (28) and skipper Kohli (20) were the notable contributors in the total. Mumbai Indians bowler Mitchell McClenaghan scalped three wickets giving away 34 runs in his four overs.
In reply, RCB got off to a flying start after in-form opener Parthiv Patel was sent back to the pavilion after being bowled on the first ball in the second innings. However the ship was steadied by Jos Buttler( 33) and Nitish Rana (28). Skipper Rohit Sharma (56*) went on to score a brilliant fifty which was sufficient for his team to go past last year’s finalists.
This win takes the Mumbai Indians right to the top of the table. Royal Challengers Bangalore are however totally out of the contention for a playoff berth as they are at the seventh position with only five points from 11 games.
In the other match, Ben Stokes finally justified his tag of being the richest player to have been bought before this IPL began after he slammed his first and the fourth overall ton in this tournament and took home Pune against Suresh Raina’s Gujarat at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune.
Brendon McCullum efforts in vain
Batting first, Gujarat openers- Brendon McCullum (45) and Ishan Kishan (31) put on 55 runs in six overs, before the latter was dismissed by leggie Imran Tahir. The middle order failed to score but Dinesh Karthik (29) Ravindra Jadeja ( 19) ensured that the team ended on 161 runs.
In reply, Pune lost four quick wickets but a good innings by all-rounder Stokes (103*) and significant knocks by Mahendra Singh Dhoni (23) along with Dan Christian (17*) fetched the Steve Smith led franchise to another win which further strengthened their chances of qualifying for the playoffs.
Pacers Basil Thampi (2/35) and Pradeep Sangwan (2/38) were the best bowlers for Suresh Raina’s Gujarat Lions, who are at the sixth place in the league table.
Brief scores:
Royal Challengers Bangalore 162/8 (AB De Villiers 43, Pawan Negi 35; Mitchell McClenaghan 3/34) lost to Mumbai Indians 165/5 in 19.5 overs (Rohit Sharma 56* Jos Buttler 33; Pawan Negi 2/17) by 5 wickets
Gujarat Lions 161 all out in 19.5 overs (Brendon McCullum 45, Ishan Kishan 31 ; Imran Tahir 3/29) lost to Rising Pune Supergiant 167/5 (Ben Stokes 103, Mahendra Singh Dhoni 26; Basil Thampi 3/35) by 5 wickets.