IPL 2016: Rohit’s royal show

Mumbai Indians’ only win prior to their game against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on Wednesday came while chasing. They lost three matches batting first. When Rohit Sharma won the toss, he did not hesitate to bowl first at Mumbai Indians’ ‘fortress’ in their fifth game.

After the bowlers, led by left-arm spinner Krunal Pandya (2/27), restricted RCB to 170/2, Mumbai Indians could not have asked for a better target to chase. And, skipper Sharma took it upon himself to see the defending champions post a much-needed win, by six wickets with two overs to spare. With this win, MI moved to fourth spot in the points table.

It was important for Mumbai Indians’ victory that Sharma batted till the end. And for that, he had to open and not bat at No. 4. The return of Kieron Pollard facilitated MI to drop Martin Guptill, which meant Sharma had to open.

He found an ideal partner in No. 3 Ambati Rayudu (31, 23b, 5×4) to see MI to victory. In their second wicket partnership of 76 off 56 balls, the two pierced the gaps for boundaries while Sharma was all grace even in his murderous mood while finding the sixes.

The MI batsmen gained confidence from the tidy work their bowlers did. South Africa’s Imran Tahir runswild after taking a wicket. He now has competition in Mumbai Indians’ Baroda left-arm spinner Krunal Pandya when it comes to celebrating a wicket.

And when you dismiss Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers in one over, you are bound to go haywire and do crazy things. Krunal has made himself count since being included from Mumbai Indians’ Game 3. He scored an unbeaten 20 against Gujarat Lions and an undefeated 49 against Sunrisers Hyderabad, both coming in losing causes.

Krunal, elder brother of Mumbai Indians’ and India all-rounder Hardik Pandya, shone with the white ball on Wednesday when he had Kohli loft straight to Tim Southee at long-off in his second over. He changed ends after conceding 10 runs including three wides in his first over from the North end. Unable to contain his joy, the 25-year-old Krunal went crazy after dismissing India’s best batsman. Off the last ball of the same over, when he drew de Villiers out to get him stumped by Parthiv Patel, Pandya jumped and ran zig-zag from left to right before hugging Kieron Pollard.

Pandya’s extraordinary celebration apart, that crucial 11th over of the RCB innings made the difference in the visitors running away with a score in excess of 200 and the eventual total that was within MI’s reach.

The world has seen what Kohli (33, 30b) and AB (29, 21b) are capable of. They came here on the back of two consecutive century stands – 157 vs Sunrisers Hyderabad and 107 vs Delhi Daredevils – for the second wicket.

They also have the highest-ever partnership in IPL – 215 unbroken for the second wicket against Mumbai Indians during their last visit here in May 2015. When they were in the middle, runs were coming at a brisk pace even though the boundaries weren’t coming thick and fast. Their running between wickets were as fast as you can imagine that before you realised, they were scoring at nearly 10 an over between over numbers five and 10.

The moment their 59-run stand in 39 balls was terminated in that Krunal’s momentous over, RCB’s free flow of runs hit a roadblock. Though IPL debutant Travis Head (37, 24b, 2×4, 2×6) could not score as rapidly as de Villiers or Kohli do, yet the left-handed Australian managed to pick the odd boundary while the unorthodox and dashing Sarfaraz Khan (28, 18b, 2×4, 2×6) was better off by playing proper cricketing shots rather than try crazy things.

Sarfaraz’s pull shots fetched him two sixes while he brought about his own downfall by reverse-paddling Jasprit Bumrah in the last over. Head and Sarfaraz shared a 34-ball 63 for the fifth wicket to take RCB to a respectable total.

The only point for discussion in the RCB batting Power Play besides Tim Southee and Mitchell McClenaghan beginning well was KL Rahul. The India Test batsman was one of the six changes that captain Kohli effected for this game from the loss to Delhi Daredevils. He overcame a nervous start in which he was felled by McClenaghan’s first ball on the side of his helmet and also was lucky that a drive did not carry to the point fielder. He cut loose against the same bowler an over later, whacking him over cover and behind the wicketkeeper for two successive sixes before flicking him behind square to pick up 16 runs from three deliveries. However, continuing in the same vein, and not satisfied with 17 runs already in that over, Rahul’s drive took the edge into the safe hands of Harbhajan Singh at lone slip. But for these, RCB would have had a sorry-looking score after six overs rather than 49/1.

In the end, as has been seen at Wankhede in recent times, the team batting second crossed the line.