Hello and welcome to The Hindu's Live Commentary of the IPL match between Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore taking place in Wankhede on Wednesday.
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And that's it. Mumbai save some face by winning their first home game this season, before the IPL caravan leaves Maharashtra. This match was a bit of a roller-coaster when you think about it. First, Virat Kohli, K Rahul and AB de Villiers getting Royal Challengers Bangalore off to a flier — run-rate of 8.9 in the first 10 overs. Then Krunal Pandya happening to the match — the fifty-plus partnership between Kohli and ABD being cut short within the space of five balls in the same over. And for a while, the RCB batsmen looking all at sea. And then walked in the cleanest smoothest hitters ever — Head and Shoulders... I mean, Head and Sarfaraz.
The two men cracked the game open again with a 63-run partnership that kicked in in the 14th over and fell out only in the 20th over — a three-wicket one.
As Mumbai Indians got to chasing RCB's below-par score, with their top 4 needing to come good, Parthiv was the first to go. Then Ambati Rayudu and Rohit shared a 76-run partnership, before Jos Buttler and Kieron Pollard washed the pants off of the RCB bowlers. Pollard became The Bulk towards the end, courtesy the generous belly he has cultivated in the past few months.
Mumbai Indians captain and Man of the Match Rohit Sharma says bowlers did an excellent job to restrict a team like RCB like they did. Krunal Pandya and Harbhajan Singh get special mention. Important for team to have hitters like Buttler and Pollard in great form, he says. Slips in a word about Rayudu as an afterthought.
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MI 171/4 after 18 overs (H Pandya 2 off 3 | K Pollard 40 off 19 || win by 6 wickets)
Pollard and his belly getting tired. Too much noise inside stadium. Head hurt. Pollard get angry. Pollard say grrr. Pollard swing wild. Pollard destroy bowling . A straight ball goes sailing beyond the Square-leg boundary for six . Two swings and misses. Aah, fresh air for sizzling Pollard. Pollard don't care about yorker, slam it through ABD's body. Pollard flail brutal swipe. Where ball go? Why people cheer? Oh, Pollard see. Ball take thick outside edge through Third-man for four. And Mumbai Indians win match by 6 wickets. Pollard happy.
Really this guy Travis Head looks like >@ABdeVilliers17>#MIvRCB>@IPL !!! >pic.twitter.com/toAiaDMDVa
— Selvam (@Selvam_R7) >April 20, 2016
MI 157/4 after 17 overs (H Pandya 2 off 3 | K Pollard 26 off 13 || need 14 from 18 balls)
Now Pollard gets his big body behind the ball in Richardson's third over. Two consecutive crushing blows for six over the boundary on the on-side.
MI 143/4 after 16 overs (H Pandya 1 off 1 | K Pollard 13 off 9 || need 28 from 24 balls)
Buttler, Buttler! What crisp six-hitting. Strolls down the pitch, and whips it for six on one leg over Long-on. And then, strolls down the pitch, and whips it for an even bigger six on both legs over Long-on. Oh, but he can't make it a hat-trick as Abdulla second-guesses him with a wider one that Buttler (28 from 14) can only slice out into Third-man's hands.
This over has done it for MI, and done for RCB. See what I did there?
MI 128/3 after 15 overs (J Buttler 16 off 10 | K Pollard 12 off 8 || need 43 from 30 balls)
And Polly's Away! One Thing Is For Sure If He Gets Going Its Gonna Be One Amazing Finish >@mipaltan>#DilSeIndian>#MIvRCB
— Sahil Sharma (@DeXterimental) >April 20, 2016
Buttler creams Watson's first ball through Backward Point for four . Pulls the next one, a short ball, to Midwicket. Then Pollard — wait, has he put on weight or WHAT — smacks his first boundary of the season, through Square-leg. Watson comes back and raps the big lazy biffer on the front pad. But Pollard is waiting for the short delivery next up, and swivel-top-edges it to the boundary via Fine-leg.
MI 115/3 after 14 overs (J Buttler 11 off 8 | K Pollard 4 off 4 || need 56 from 36 balls)
Aaron bowls two lengths — short and full. Aaron bowls two speeds — really effing fast and painfully slow.
MI 109/3 after 13 overs (J Buttler 9 off 6 | K Pollard 0 off 0 || need 62 from 42 balls)
And Rohit absolutely despatches Abdulla, on one knee, over Deep-midwicket for six . Crunchy sound on that one. Now, Rohit boxes a wristy four through the on-side. But aargh! Rohit (62 from 44) has given it away once again. He steps out, fails to get to the pitch of the ball and he roars out his frustration as a really bad shot balloons up with ABD getting under it at Long-off. He caught it, in case you didn't follow that sentence to its only logical conclusion.
MI 97/2 after 12 overs (J Buttler 8 off 5 | R Sharma 51 off 39 || need 74 from 48 balls)
Binny bowling distinct cutters here. Not much pace, but deviation is definite. Rohit mishits a short on into the gap for four .
MI 89/2 after 11 overs (J Buttler 6 off 3 | R Sharma 45 off 35 || need 82 from 54 balls)
Rayudu (31 from 23) looking to be in cramps. Gets a masseur out there in the middle. And a ball later, he is caught slog-sweeping into Deep-midwicket's throat. Buttler comes in, nurdles one past Third-man for four . That should help him get his eye in to unleash the big hits in his arsenal.
MI 81/1 after 10 overs (A Rayudu 31 off 22 | R Sharma 43 off 33 || need 90 from 60 balls)
Harshal Patel bowls a slow bouncer that gets jabbed into the Midwicket boundary by Rayudu who, for some strange reason, seems to crumble into that shot. You'd know what I mean if you saw it. Now, Rayudu clubs it past Mid-off for consecutive four s.
MI 70/1 after 9 overs (A Rayudu 23 off 20 | R Sharma 40 off 29 || need 101 from 66 balls)
Now, it's spin from Iqbal Abdulla, who was brought in today for Chahal, who had put in quite a good performance till he was rested. Flat bowling. Hard to put away. Nothing more boring than a spinner who bowls flat. Then again, nothing more successful in IPL than a spinner who bowls flat.
MI 65/1 after 8 overs (A Rayudu 21 off 18 | R Sharma 37 off 25 || need 106 from 72 balls)
Quiet over from Watson. Rayudu's ramp was thrilling to watch. Just 5 runs.
MI 60/1 after 7 overs (A Rayudu 19 off 15 | R Sharma 34 off 22 || need 111 from 78 balls)
Harshal Patel Rayudu pulls one off-balance to Midwicket. But Rohit is the antithesis of Rayudu's 'savagery' at times. He just gracefully steers a wide-ish short ball over Fine-leg for six . Fifty partnership comes up.
MI 51/1 after 6 overs (A Rayudu 18 off 13 | R Sharma 26 off 18 || need 120 from 84 balls)
Shane Watson now comes into the attack. Keeping a resolute off-stump line. But the final ball is smashed for four . Powerplay done with.
MI 43/1 after 5 overs (A Rayudu 13 off 9 | R Sharma 24 off 16 || need 128 from 90 balls)
Rohit Sharma is now on song. You know that for sure when he unveils his famous front-foot pull for four . And with the ball moving in the air, Rohit paddles one behind square for another four . Now, Aaron is knocked off his rhythm and he oversteps, and gives Rayudu a slashed four over Point off the last ball. Good over for MI. 19 runs.
MI 24/1 after 4 overs (A Rayudu 7 off 7 | R Sharma 12 off 12 || need 147 from 96 balls)
Richardson has a lot of pace. It can either hurry you like it did Parthiv, or it can fly off your bat if you make decent enough contact like Rohit did, top-edging it for four over the Slips. Then Rayudu takes the cue and swats another short one for four through the Covers.
MI 14/1 after 3 overs (A Rayudu 2 off 4 | R Sharma 7 off 8 || need 157 from 102 balls)
Tough over from Aaron, here. Keeps the line tight, gives little width, and is aided by great fielding by Head. Oh wait. No. A few balls later, Head just throws wildly and gives away 5 overthrows.
MI 8/1 after 2 overs (A Rayudu 1 off 1 | R Sharma 2 off 5 || need 163 from 108 balls)
And Parthiv (5 from 6) is gone early. Kane Richardson steams in, looking like Leo DiCaprio's stunt double in The Revenant, and strikes first delivery. Surprising pace there, and Parthiv can only slice it up in the air for ABD to pouch it at Point.
MI 6/0 after 1 over (P Patel 5 off 5 | R Sharma 1 off 1 || need 165 from 114 balls)
Varun Aaron steams in, then floats in, then steams in again. Drastic changes of pace in that over, one of which Parthiv drives for four .
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Is that a good total overall? That remains to be seen.
But Royal Challengers Bangalore did quite well, courtesy Sarfaraz Khan and Travis Head, to lift themselves to a decent total of 170/7. Using brute power and muscle, the two pint-sized batsmen knocked the Mumbai Indians bowlers off their lines and lengths for a brief but crucially shining period. They revived RCB's scoring rate after the lull that had descended over it in the wake of Krunal Pandya's double-strike 11th over, in which he had sent Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers back to the dugout in the space of a few balls.
MI will need to get a good start here, though. Top four can't afford not to fire.
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RCB 170/7 after 20 overs (K Richardson 1 off 1 | H Patel 0 off 0)
Woof. What a throw from Harbhajan Singh, patrolling the Square-leg boundary! Head and Sarfaraz clearly didn't expect that the ball might make its way back to the striker's end so darn swiftly, and they go off for a second run that ends very badly for Travis Head (37 from 24). Sarfaraz keeps going after losing his partner in crime. Literally drags a ball from outside off, almost falling over, over the Midwicket boundary for six . Oh no, Sarfaraz (28 from 18). Why do you feel the need to play these cute shots — like scooping over the 'keeper's head and into Third-man's hands — when you can pack SUCH a punch?
Now, Stuart Binny (0 from 1) slogs blindly and holes out at Long-off. But Richardson survives the yorking hat-trick ball. RCB will rue losing these wickets at the very end as much for the dot-balls they generated.
RCB 161/4 after 19 overs (S Khan 22 off 16 | T Head 36 off 23)
Sarfaraz now seeing it well. And it helps that back-of-a-length balls come to him as short balls that he can hook away with power to Square-leg for four .
Huuuuuge hit from Head. Smashes a slower delivery outside the Midwicket boundary for six . Then Sarfaraz pulls a bouncer with all his might, and it carries over the Midwicket ropes for another six .
RCB 143/4 after 18 overs (S Khan 12 off 12 | T Head 29 off 21)
Intelligent bowling is Bumrah's forte. Sighting Sarfaraz making room for a scoop-shot, he bowls it wide on the off-side, and the batsman is thwarted. Head has no such nurdles on his mind, though. Absolutely whiplashes the third ball of the over into the Square-leg boundary for a much-needed four . Bumrah thencomes back to pin the batsmen down with yorkers.
RCB 134/4 after 17 overs (S Khan 10 off 9 | T Head 22 off 18)
Head is really strong inside that small frame of his, and just thumps one down the ground past the bowler for four . Eleven runs come from that McClenaghan over, even though it was a well-bowled one.
RCB 123/4 after 16 overs (S Khan 9 off 8 | T Head 12 off 13)
Well done Krunal >#MIvRCB>#IPL2016 picking two big wickets >pic.twitter.com/489ojOWW6a
— Dheeraj Bhupathiraju (@cheeryrules) >April 20, 2016
And my word. Krunal begins his final over with a horrendous wide that 'keeper Parthiv, with his short arms, has no hope of stopping. Bowls the rest of the over fairly well, though. No boundaries off the bat.
RCB 112/4 after 15 overs (S Khan 5 off 4 | T Head 10 off 11)
Hardik gets a few good ones in. Then, Head checks in with a powerful six that rises no higher than the height of three Sarfaraz Khans stacked on top of one another and then twists upwards just as it nears the Square-leg boundary ropes. Whoosh. What a shot.
Head and Sarfaraz have to have the lowest combined height for two individual cricketers. Yet, they stand head and shoulders above most finishers in circulation today.
Meanwhile, check this oddity out:
Krunal Pandya does a Malinga sans the result >#MIvRCB>#VIVOIPL>https://t.co/VelT0DEpCi
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) >April 20, 2016
RCB 103/4 after 14 overs (S Khan 4 off 3 | T Head 2 off 6)
Bumrah strikes this time. Watson (5 from 10) goes fishing for the swing and gets a thick edge to a diving Parthiv behind the wickets.
And young and spirited Sarfaraz Khan waddles in. He really is quity tiny for a human being.
And he's off. After two short testers, he gets a third, and this time he is ready to just sway out of the way a bit and nurdle it over the 'keeper's head for four .
RCB 98/3 after 13 overs (S Watson 4 off 4 | T Head 0 off 3)
Watson isn't looking the in-form batsman he's supposed to be, here. Cramped, swishing and missing. RCB can't afford to be so crippled by the loss of two key wickets. Oh, I guess Krunal is bowling really well, too. RCB will be worried the way things are going, especially after the start they got.
RCB 96/3 after 12 overs (S Watson 4 off 4 | T Head 0 off 3)
Boy, was that a key partnership to break. And Southee capitalises on the wound by bowling out a 3-run over to the two new batsmen, Travis Head and Shane Watson.
RCB 93/3 after 11 overs (S Watson 1 off 1 | T Head 0 off 0)
And Kohli (33 from 30) mishits one, just as the partnership was building nicely. It balloons up into Southee's hands of Long-off. And Krunal is bowling beautifully here. Off the final ball of the over, he makes ABD (29 from 21) stretch out of his crease to meet the ball, miss, and has Parthiv whip the bails off behind him.
RCB 89/1 after 10 overs (AB de Villiers 28 off 18 | V Kohli 31 off 28)
Hardik Pandya comes in to bowl now. De Villiers drags a length ball into the stands over Midwicket for six . Add the singles, and it's 10 runs off that over.
RCB 79/1 after 9 overs (AB de Villiers 20 off 15 | V Kohli 30 off 25)
After a wide ball, Kohli dismisses a ball from off-stump into the Point boundary for four . ABD also got a boundary in there, a cheeky sweep across his pads through Fine-leg.
RCB 66/1 after 8 overs (AB de Villiers 14 off 14 | V Kohli 24 off 22)
Krunal Pandya into the attack now. Pollard throws all the mass at his disposal in the ball's way and saves two runs at the Square-leg boundary. He's targeting the pads on middle-and-leg. Two go down the legside for wide, though.
RCB 56/1 after 7 overs
Harbhajan Singh is bowling oddly. It's coming in flat AND with a lot of drift. Really floaty. Anyway, he keeps the batsmen quiet for five balls till ABD decides to reverse-sweep him cutely for four . And Strategic Time-Out.
RCB 49/1 after 6 overs (AB de Villiers 7 off 6 | V Kohli 18 off 16)
Jasprit Bumrah bowls a quiet over, till the last ball, which Kohli slashes away in Third-man's direction for four .
RCB 41/1 after 5 overs (AB de Villiers 5 off 4 | V Kohli 12 off 12)
Southee has now shelved his swingers altogether now. He's pulled his length back. On the fifth ball, he hits ABD in an uncomfortable, nearly unmentionable spot. Next ball, ABD takes an angry-looking swipe at a length ball and sends it off for a four through Midwicket.
RCB 32/1 after 4 overs (K Rahul 7 off 7 | V Kohli 7 off 8)
Now Rahul really opens his arms. And how. The short-and-wide ball just skyrockets and lands somewhere in the stands beyond the Extra Cover boundary for six . And now, Rahul replicates his ramp shot from last over, this time with even better results, as it sails over for a six .
Wow. McClenaghan has done it. Another short one with a bit of width, and Rahul (23 from 14) plays it into Harbhajan's hands at First Slip. And in walks AB.
RCB 15/0 after 3 overs (K Rahul 7 off 7 | V Kohli 7 off 8)
And suddenly it isn't swinging Southee's way. The ball holds its legside line and Kohli whips it off his pads for a four . And then Rahul helps one over the 'keeper's head, arms, everything for four through Third-man.
RCB 6/0 after 2 overs (K Rahul 3 off 8 | V Kohli 2 off 4)
McClenaghan gets a great first over in, himself. Just the two runs.
RCB 4/0 after 1 over (K Rahul 3 off 3 | V Kohli 1 off 3)
Tim Southee getting that beautiful early swing. He was a real treat to watch against Sunrisers a couple days ago. Kohli negotiates the first couple rather edgily, plays and misses the third. Southee is bowling to a plan, a plan that consists of two keen Slips.
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A bunch of changes for RCB today. Kane Richardson in for David Wiese, Martin Guptill goes out and Kieron Pollard stays, Iqbal Abdulla for Yuzvendra Chahal, Varun Aaron for S Aravind, Stuart Binny for Pervez Rasool and Travis Head for Chris Gayle.
Mumbai Indians win toss, elect to bowl vs Royal Challengers.
This just in: Chris Gayle is off in Jamaica to welcome yet another Gayle into the world. Which means Mumbai won't be bowling to the big man — who is a basher going through a bit of a bad patch. So good news or bad news?
Royal Challengers Bangalore
RCB’s top-heavy batting line-up -- consisting of Virat Kohli, A.B. de Villiers and Shane Watson -- has done the bulk of the scoring so far, accounting for nearly 80% of the total runs scored and have, in many ways, made up for Chris Gayle’s woeful form.
The absence of Mitchell Starc continues to haunt the Bangalore team. They’ve been served well by Watson’s canny off-cutters and subtle changes in pace in the middle overs but the rest of the pack seemed not-so-effective and non-threatening.
Mumbai Indians
Mumbai Indians, a perennial slow starters, have lost both their home matches this season so far. MI’s batting line-up has an unsettled look about it -- it has undergone quite a few changes in the four matches they’ve played. The team, as a batting unit, hasn't clicked yet. There have been isolated flashes of brilliance but nothing of enough substance to make it matter or change the course of the match.
The pace and swing of Kiwi duo Tim Southee and Mitchell McClenaghan and Jasprit Bumrah’s death bowling remain the key for Mumbai.
