We had to play the bluff card, say 200's a great score: Faf du Plessis on RCB’s defeat against MI

It was another bitter outing for the Royal Challengers Bangalore as they went down fighting against the Mumbai Indians in a high-profile chase. Their batters were once again in swashbuckling form led by Faf du Plessis (65) and Glenn Maxwell (68) but another sloppy outing by the bowlers saw them come up short against a high-flying Mumbai Indians’ batting unit, spearheaded by Suryakumar Yadav (83).

A couple of early blows may have dealt a dent to RCB’s aspirations but they seemed well in control through the reliable partnership of Faf du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell. Dinesh Karthik (30) provided a late flourish to help the Royal Challengers scale a mountain of 199. However, the bowlers misfired on a crucial day as Mumbai rode high on the duo of Suryakumar Yadav and Nehal Wadhera’s partnership to chase down the total without breaking a sweat.

Speaking on the 199-run total RCB eventually managed to get to, RCB skipper Faf, in the post-match presentation, said “I think at least we were 20 below par, the context of the wickets so far this season, anything under 220 with MI's batting line-up. They are a strong side, they bat deep. We didn't capitalise on the last five overs [of our innings], so we were very disappointed. We had to play the bluff card, say 200's a great score. Take pace off with the ball. It was a bit slower than a normal Wankhede wicket.”

He also shed some light on Suryakumar Yadav’s blistering knock, adding,” He's one of the best, when he gets going he's really difficult to bowl too. So many options you can't shut him down.”

Faf would conclude by talking about Mohammed Siraj, stating, “He's been fantastic. The nature of T20 cricket is that bowlers will be under pressure. Nature of the beast, long batting line-ups and guys are going to come out and play positively.”