Led by fifties from Phil Salt and Rajat Patidar, and a combined spell of 3/73 in 8 overs from Suyash Sharma and Krunal Pandya, RCB beat MI by 18 runs.
It is no secret that Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) rely heavily on their top order to set the tone, either batting first or second. If it was Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal in the initial matches, it was the turn of Phil Salt and captain Rajat Patidar to make the defining impact against Mumbai Indians (MI) on Sunday.
The Englishman had endured a mixed start to his season, but decided to bring out his best against the five-time champions. The most striking aspect of Salt’s 36-ball 78 was his destruction of spin. Mitchell Santner’s introduction from the Commentary Box End, in the fifth over, backfired as he took him apart for 22 runs, including three sixes on the leg-side, making full use of the shorter boundary.
6️⃣, 6️⃣, 6️⃣! 🤯
🎥 Phil Salt goes back-to-back-to-back against Mitchell Santner 🔥
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Three overs later, Mayank Markhande came on from the far end. He was creamed for 19 runs, which included three boundaries, the first of which brought up his fifty in 25 balls. Two of which came towards point and cover, again towards the shorter side of the ground.
The RCB opener’s attacking approach meant Hardik Pandya had no option but to bring back his pacers sooner than he would have liked. The visitors blazed their way to 71/0 in the powerplay and 115/0 at the halfway mark.
It took the golden arm of Shardul Thakur to halt Salt’s stay in the 11th over. But his knock had set RCB on their way to a big score.
If MI thought that Salt’s dismissal would bring them respite, they were mistaken. Rajat Patidar promoted himself to number three and significantly upped the scoring rate. Markhande was reintroduced in the 12th over, and it was exactly what the RCB skipper – arguably the best player of spin in the league – needed to kickstart his innings.
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Patidar smashed the leg-spinner for three sixes and a four, and forced Pandya to again resort to pace. Trent Boult was brought back to remove the RCB captain, but Patidar used the depth of the crease efficiently to pummel Boult for a four and a six.
The #RCB skipper is putting on a show! 🔥
🎥 3️⃣ consecutive sixes for Rajat Patidar right out of the blocks 👊
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The right-hander’s 50 came off 17 balls, and Patidar looked good for a lot more on a flat pitch and an attack lacking bite. But Santner’s trap in the 16th over, where he enticed the right-hander by bowling wide down the leg-side and outside off-stump before a full delivery on middle, foxed him on 53.
Both innings had propelled RCB to 194/3 after 16 overs and ensured that, despite Kohli’s uncharacteristically slow innings, where timing eluded him almost right through his knock, the likes of Tim David and Co. had a foundation to launch at the backend.
Suyash-Krunal duo shine
Even before a ball was bowled on Sunday, it was clear that the spinners were going to have their task cut out with a shorter boundary on one side of the Wankhede Stadium. Santner and Markhande bore the brunt of the dimensions, going for a combined 83 runs in six overs for one wicket.
While RCB had put on a sizeable 240 runs on the board, the job for Suyash Sharma and Krunal Pandya was only made harder by the wet ball and several left-handers in the MI line-up. In the absence of Josh Hazlewood, their role carried added significance.
Talk about an 𝙀𝙉𝙏𝙍𝘼𝙉𝘾𝙀! ⚡
Suyash Sharma with a double blow in his first over ✌️
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Yet, with things stacked against them, the duo delivered the goods. Suyash set the tone, dismissing the dangerous-looking Ryan Rickelton for 37 with a googly off the first ball of his spell. In the same over, Suyash got lucky as Tilak Varma swept a ball straight into short fine-leg’s hands.
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The MI batters were in no mood to allow Suyash to settle into a rhythm and went after him at every possible opportunity. It meant the onus was on Krunal to complement the leg-spinner. He brought his experience of several seasons at the Wankhede Stadium, coupled with knowing many of the opposition players, to the fore in a wily spell.
The all-rounder mixed his release points and used his now-renowned bouncer to keep a check on the scoring rate. He also removed Suryakumar Yadav when it looked like he was building a steady partnership with Pandya. The pair took a combined figures of 3/73 in eight overs on a ground and a surface where they didn’t have a lot going for them. That, in the end, proved to be the difference between the sides.
Brief Scores: RCB 240/4 in 20 overs (Salt 78, Patidar 53) beat MI 222/5 in 20 overs (Rutherford 71, Pandya 40; Suyash 2/47) by 18 runs.
