After being put in to bat, Royal Challengers Bangalore racked up a competitive 165 for six in an IPL clash against Mumbai Indians at Dubai on Sunday. RCB rode on crisp knocks from skipper Virat Kohli (51, 42b, 3x4, 3x6) and Glenn Maxwell (56, 37b, 6x4, 3x6).
Kohli took centerstage after fellow opener Devdutt Padikkal was dismissed for a duck by Jasprit Bumrah. Padikkal had no clue to a ball that moved away, opening the face of the bat to guide it to wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock.
One-drop K.S. Bharat (32, 24b, 2x4, 2x6) was not particularly fluent, save for a couple of clean slog-sweep sixes. Immediately after one maximum, Bharat tried to loft leg-spinner Rahul Chahar, but found Suryakumar Yadav at long-off.
Kohli chugged along quietly, and recorded his second consecutive fifty. He received a life on 37, when Hardik Pandya put down a regulation catch at point. During the course of his essay, Kohli completed 10,000 runs in T20 cricket. A pull shot, off pacer Adam Milne, ended his stay.
Maxwell came to the party with typical flair. He got going with a switch hit to left-arm spinner Krunal Pandya, which sailed well beyond the deep point fence. Milne met the same fate later, when Maxwell used a reverse scoop to hit a six over third-man. It took a low full toss from Bumrah to send the dangerous Maxwell back.
Bumrah struck off the very next delivery too when he had de Villiers (11, 6b, 1x4, 1x6) caught behind. The double blow in the 19th over arrested RCB’s momentum. Left-arm speedster Trent Boult bowled a tidy final over, conceding just three. Bumrah was the most successful bowler with three for 36. He has performed well after the restart, taking eight wickets in three matches.
