Top three performances: RCB vs MI

It was sheer delight for the Royal Challengers Bangalore fans as the team pulled off a third win in a row, thumping the Mumbai Indians emphatically in a run-chase that seemed tricky initially but was soon changed into a canter for RCB as Anuj Rawat emerged as the lodestar oozing brilliance.

Here's a glance at the three best performances of the night for RCB.

1. Harshal Patel

Purple Patel was once again bang on his money as he simply couldn’t resist from belting out another masterclass against the Mumbai Indians. He produced the first breakthrough as he compelled Rohit Sharma to play an untoward stroke that landed straight in the arms of Patel. He followed it up with an exceptionally frugal display that would simply not allow the Indians to break free. The best part about his spell was that final over where Suryakumar Yadav was primed to bring out the big hits only to be manacled till the fifth ball of the over before the last one went for a maximum.

2. Anuj Rawat

In a pecking order that features names like Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis, Glenn Maxwell and Dinesh Karthik, it is simply a bonus to see a young Anuj Rawat outclassing them all. The early faith vested in him finally reaped handsome dividends as the youngster smashed two huge sixes in the first over of Unadkat to clarify his intimidating intentions. Despite the fall of Faf, Anuj carried on with his onslaught that saw him blitzing in the middle in perfect sync with Kohli while occasionally bringing out the heavy artillery. He smashed 67 runs off 47 balls before finally falling short of the crease as Ramandeep ran him out.

3. Virat Kohli

The king reigned supreme like a leader as he masterminded the chase, making it look like a canter in the treacherous shores of Pune. He was aggressive, he chose his shots carefully and most importantly, his residence in the middle provided the much-needed support to Anuj Rawat. Despite falling short of his half-century to a questionable call, he managed to dictate the shots for a lion’s share of the chase, leaving Mumbai in the dark as he amassed a crucial 48.