Royal Challengers Bangalore succumbed to their second loss in the trot as Mumbai Indians registered a convincing win at Abu Dhabi on Wednesday to go up to 16 points. They have almost sealed their playoffs berth, and will be looking to carry on in the same vein in the next two games as well.
Here are the talking points from the match.
Suryakumar Yadav! And he is not a part of the Indian T20I team!
Suryakumar Yadav, undoubtedly one of India’s best T20 batters – his form in the IPL and the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy are outstanding – would have been disappointed at missing the flight for the upcoming tour of Australia. He made a fine statement in front of the Indian skipper Virat Kohli, smashing an unbeaten 79 in just 43 balls with the help of 10 fours and three sixes.
Walking in to bat at the loss of Quinton de Kock’s wicket with teh scoreboard reading 37 for 1 in 5.3 overs, the player anchored the innings to perfection and only got going in the 12th over, when he smashed 19 deliveries. He targeted Dale Steyn and Yuzvendra Chahal and made a point with his temperament. MI skipper Kieron Pollard heaped high praise on Yadav in the post-match presentation ceremony, stating that his time to play for Team India would come soon, and if he anchors the innings to perfection in the manner he did against RCB, there is no reason to believe otherwise.
What many wanted to hear, or rather see! #Dream11IPL #MIvsRCB #MI #RCB #mipaltan #suryakumaryadav #sky #cricketnews pic.twitter.com/PHnOW5CbZ9
— Cricket News (@cricketnews_com) October 28, 2020
The over-dependence on AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli
Though Devdutt Padikkal has been in excellent form and smashed a fine fifty against MI, the biggest stars of the RCB line-up have, undoubtedly, been Kohli and AB de Villiers. Game-after-game, the team has depended on the duo to navigate them and take them over the finish line, and each time the two have failed, RCB have gone on to lose the game. In wins, the two have scored 434 runs at a strike rate of almost 170, while in defeats the number goes down to 244 runs.
Against MI, both batters were out by the 16th over – a phase that de Villiers thrives in, which meant that the onus of finishing off the innings was on Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar and Chris Morris. The RCB attack wanes down after the number four slot, which could prove to be an Achilles Heel going forward.
Mumbai Indians are yet to lose two games on the trot
Mumbai Indians displayed their dominance in the IPL as they came back strongly from their loss against Rajasthan Royals to grab the game against RCB. The unit are yet to lose two games on the trot since 2019 when they won the title. The team has some of the biggest match-winners in Jasprit Bumrah, Rohit Sharma, Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya and Quinton de Kock, who all have the skills to raise their game after a thumping.
A case in point being Bumrah, who had conceded 38 in his 4 overs with no wickets against Rajasthan. The champion bowler bounced back strongly to end with 3 for 14 against RCB, and it is this ability of its players to keep bouncing back with vengeance that has made MI such a successful team over the seasons.