Devdutt’s 74 goes in vain as MI pip RCB to go top

An evening which started off in a cracking fashion ended in a whimper as the Mumbai Indians hunted down RCB’s total of 164 to go top of the Dream11 IPL points table. For RCB, a second defeat in as many games, the first such experience for the team in 2020 saw the team drop out of the top 2.

A rejig at the top of the batting order saw Josh Philippe partnering Devdutt Padikkal at the top of the order. The young pair played some eye-catching cricket, putting the Mumbai bowling to the sword in the powerplay. A 71-run opening stand at around 9-an-over was the perfect beginning for RCB in the top of the table clash. Josh Philippe was a breath of fresh air, displaying his full array of strokes in the first opportunity at the opening slot in RCB colors.

It was however, Devdutt Padikkal who was the showstopper. The young Karnataka batsman showed once again why he is the talk of the town in the Dream11 IPL 2020. While his skipper Virat Kohli, and to some extent AB de Villiers struggled to get the spinners away, Devdutt pierced the gaps on the off-side with a surgeon’s precision, finding the boundary at will.

However, the run rate had slowed down with Virat Kohli struggling to get the ball away. The familiar Achilles heel of the run rate slowing down in the middle overs for RCB this season brought MI back into the game. But, if the middle overs slowed things down, the death overs felt like a kick in the teeth. With five overs to go, just when AB having middled a trademark scoop for six and a set Devdutt punishing Chahar were looking ominous, the game turned on its head. 

It felt as if the Mumbai Indians fielders had a giant magnet in their hands and the ball was made of iron. Every ball that went in air found a fielder. The 16th and the 17th over saw RCB lose 3 wickets for 5 runs; both AB de Villiers and Devdutt Padikkal had returned to the dugout. The final flourish came with a cameo from Gurkeerat Singh, but the innings which seemed to be headed for a 180+ score ended up at least 15 short.

Despite the Mumbai Indians getting off to a solid beginning, RCB kept their chin up. Washington Sundar stemmed the flow of runs before Mohammed Siraj returned to a venue where he bowled one of the best spells in IPL history and accounted for Quinton de Kock in the very first over. A couple of overs later, the required rate was creeping up, and Yuzvendra Chahal sucked Ishan Kishan into a mistimed big-hit only to be caught at long-off. By the time Washington Sundar completed his spell, the required rate had touched nearly 10-an-over for MI.

However, it was the Surya Kumar Yadav show that followed which took Mumbai home. Despite the odd wicket falling at the other end, Yadav realized the need to keep the required rate under check, getting boundaries at crucial junctures, while taking on RCB’s key bowler in Yuzvendra Chahal. Despite RCB staying in the hunt, Mumbai, knowing the runs needed could afford to pick and choose when to go big. In the end, Mumbai romped home with five balls to spare, leaving RCB with a few areas to address heading into the crucial last two games of the league phase.