Mumbai Indians have recorded their first victory of the 2015 IPL campaign. That it came away against a strong Royal Challengers Bangalore side, with the visitors setting a target of 210 and winning by 18 runs, will fill the side with confidence as the table begins to take shape. For RCB, who replace Mumbai at the bottom of the ladder with this defeat, questions will be asked of their tactics in the chase.
First, Chris Gayle looked to be batting in treacle, at one point sitting on one run after 13 balls, before eventually being dismissed for 10 from 24. That he was dropped twice, in hindsight, look like calculated moves from Lendl Simmons and Lasith Malinga, who fluffed chances at cover and fine-leg, respectively. Then, despite an ever increasing run rate, AB de Villiers was introduced only at No5, meaning he came to the crease with 148 needed from 57 balls. That he managed 41 from 11 underlined the foolishness of the decision to have him batting so low.
But credit should go to Mumbai who, on a good wicket at a ground famed for its big scores, broke the 200 barrier with relative ease. A fine opening from Simmons (59 from 44) set a platform that was built on by 22-year-old Unmukt Chand, who blazed a classical looking 58 from 37 balls, before Rohit Sharma produced some absurd shots – including a checked-sweep for one of four sixes – in his cameo of 42 off 15 balls. With the ball it was the veteran off-spinner Harbhajan Singh who stifled the RCB chase, with three for 27 from his four overs.
There was a brief moment after De Villiers’ dismissal, caught in the deep by Kieron Pollard off Jasprit Bumrah, that the impossible looked on, as the South African allrounder David Wiese found the boundary with ease, having come to the crease with the required rate hitting 15 an over. Malinga had other ideas, closing out the penultimate over for seven, meaning 28 were needed from the last six balls.
It proved too many, even for Wiese, who finished on 47 not out to go with his excellent figures of four for 33.
