Mumbai: Rohit Sharma’s power-packed 94 helped Mumbai Indians end their 3-match losing streak in VIVO IPL 2018. Courtesy their captain’s knock, the defending champions posted a formidable 213-6, after which the MI bowlers restricted the visiting Royal Challengers Bangalore to 167-8 at the Wankhede Stadium on Tuesday night. MI emerged victors by 46 runs and got their first points of the season.
MI, put in to bat, got off to a disastrous start losing wickets off the first two balls of the match. Umesh Yadav’s first-ball inswinger cut through Suryakumar Yadav and hit the middle stump behind him; the following delivery, Yadav castled Ishan Kishan with an inswinger. MI recovered from that poor start through a 108-run partnership between Evin Lewis and Rohit. After Lewis’ dismissal, Rohit was involved in small partnerships with the Pandya brothers and Kieron Pollard. Rohit himself was dismissed for 94 off the penultimate ball of the innings. MI made 60-2 in the powerplay overs, added 83 for the loss of one wicket in the middle period, and added a further 70 runs in the final five overs.
RCB, facing a stiff target, never really got a footing in the run-chase. Captain Virat Kohli, who held his end up and waged a lone battle, saw his team off to a brisk start in the company of Quinton de Kock. But after the South African wicketkeeper-batsman was cleaned up by Mitchell McClenaghan, RCB began to slip, losing wickets regularly.
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