IPL 2016, Match 14: Mumbai Indians beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by 6 wickets at Mumbai, Stars and Flops

After another dismal game against the Sunrisers Hyderabad on Monday, Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper Rohit Sharma decided to return to a familiar batting position as he guided his side to a comprehensive win against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on a flat Wankhede deck.

MI achieved the win with two overs to spare and that has helped them boost their net run-rate, taking them to the fourth position in the points table. MI are not known to be good starters in the tournament and gradually they make their mark. The same pattern seems to be following this season as well. READ: IPL 2016, Match 14, Pick of the tweets: Mumbai Indians vs Royal Challengers Bangalore at Mumbai

On a flat Wankhede surface, chasing 171 was not going to be a tough task but Rohit ensured MI reached there without any hiccups. After losing Parthiv Patel in the first ball of the second over, Rohit and Ambati Rayudu displayed immense maturity and stitched 76-run stand for the first wicket that laid the foundation.

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Further, Jos Buttler and Kieron Pollard played in the way only they could ensure that the game was finished in 18th over. Iqbal Abdulla chipped in with three wickets and tried to create some panic in the Mumbai camp but that was not the case.

Turning Point: Toss plays an important role at Mumbai. Rohit called it right at the toss and put RCB in. Krunal Pandya’s 11th over made the difference. Once again, AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli looked set for a big score. Krunal removed Kohli first and then got de Villiers stumped. RCB could not recover from the blow. Even Jasprit Bumrah’s three late wickets ensured RCB did not get to 200. The score of 170 was never going to intimidate MI on a batting surface. Also, RCB have not bowled well.

Brief Scores:

Royal Challengers Bangalore 170 for 7 in 20 overs [Travis Head 37 (24), Virat Kohli 33 (30); Jasprir Bumrah 4-0-31-3, Krunal Pandya 4-0-27-2] lost to Mumbai Indians 171 for 4 in 18 overs [Rohit Sharma 62 (44), Kieron Pollard 40 (19)*; Iqbal Abdulla 4-0-40-3, Kane Richardson 3-0-26-1] by 6 wickets.