Defending champions Mumbai Indians managed to beat Royal Challengers Bangalore for their second win of the campaign at Wankhede Stadium.
Winning the toss proved crucial once again, as Mumbai Indians just about paced their chase after restricting RCB's innings to a below-par total of 170.
Skipper Rohit Sharma took some time to press the pedal, and his innings was pivotal to the chase. He scored 62 runs off 44 balls, but it was Kieron Pollard who made sure that they cross the line with an onslaught towards the end.
Besides the West Indian, Ambati Rayudu also played his part with the bat, scoring 32 crucial runs off 23 balls. His second-wicket stand with Rohit allowed Mumbai Indians to take some liberty in the middle overs.
For Bangalore, Iqbal Abdulla took three wickets leaking 40 runs from his four overs. And once again, RCB's lack of an effective bowling unit was remonstrated by their failure to take wickets.
Skipper Virat Kohli used six bowlers, and none looked capable of intimidating the opponent batting line-up.
MUMBAI INDIANS INNINGS; TARGET: 171 RUNS
Over 18 || Score 171/4 (Pollard 40; H Pandya 2)
Virat Kohli invoked Shane Watson, and the Aussie just about did the trick with a range of his deliveries, even though Kieron Pollard hit the second ball for a six.
Than the shocker from AB de Villiers. After two dot balls, Pollard played towards long-on where the gold-standard of international fielder committed another blunder. A four, then a thick edge off the last ball of the over went for another four.
That's enough. 14 runs from the over. And Mumbai Indians won the match by six wickets.
Over 17 || Score 157/4 (Pollard 26; H Pandya 2)
Kane Richardson returned for his third over, and he was manhandled by Kieron Pollard.
A dot ball, then a single to Hardik Pandya.
Pollard then blocked the third ball for a dot, then the West Indian hit two sixes off the next two balls. Pretty ordinary bowling from Richardson, both the deliveries short and wide.
A single, and Mumbai Indians need 14 runs from 18 balls to win the match.
Over 16 || Score 128/4 (Pollard 13; H Pandya 1)
Virat Kohli opted to complete Iqbal Abdulla's spell. A dot ball to Jos Buttler to start the over.
Two sixes followed with Buttler coming down both times, and targeting the same area at long-on. Massive hits.
Then, the wicket. Buttler holed out at short third man.
WICKET: Jos Buttler c Shane Watson b Iqbal Abdulla 28 (14b)
Time-out followed.
Kieron Pollard then tried to play smart and cute with a cut shot, and Bangalore wicket-keeper Lokesh Rahul went gaga for a caught behind, only to find the umpire giving it a wide.
Two more singles and 15 runs and a wicket from the over.
Hardik Pandya is the new man. Abdulla's figures: 4-0-40-3.
Mumbai Indians need another 28 runs from 24 balls.
Over 15 || Score 128/3 (Buttler 16; Pollard 12)
Big over for the batting side. Shane Watson returned for third over, and conceded 13 runs, including two fours.
The over started with four to Jos Buttler. A cut shot with good results.
Kieron Pollard, who was struggling, got his first boundary of the season. A ferocious pull shot off the fourth ball of the over.
It was followed by a close call. LBW. And it seemed a good one, but replays showed the delivery sliding down the leg. Close, very close call.
Then, the West Indies found a lucky four. To-edge,and beat the fielder at fine leg.
Over 14 || Score 115/3 (Buttler 11; Pollard 4)
Virat Kohli, sensing more wickets, brought in Varun Aaron for the paceman's last over. Good one. 6 runs from it, and his figures 4-0-37-0.
The over witnessed AB de Villiers committing a misfield at mid-off. Rare sight. A single resulting in three.
Over 13 || Score 109/3 (Buttler 9; Pollard 0)
Iqbal Abdulla's persistence paid off. The left-arm spinner started his third over with a six to Rohit Sharma. A slog-sweep, and the ball deposited deep into the stands.
Two singles followed, then a dot ball to Rohit. The Mumbai skipper hit the next ball for a four. Then the wicket. Rohit picked out AB de Villiers at long-off.
WICKET: Rohit Sharma c AB de Villiers b Iqbal Abdulla 62 (44b)
Kieron Pollard is the new man, and Mumbai need another 62 runs from 42 balls. Anybody's game now.
Over 12 || Score 97/2 (R Sharma 51; Buttler 8)
Stuart Binny finally got his first over. A single to Jos Buttler, then a dot ball to Rohit Sharma.
The Mumbai skipper then played an exquisite pull shot and dissect the fielders at deep mid-wicket and deep square leg for a four.
A single to reach fifty.
Two mor singles and eight runs from the over.
Over 11 || Score 89/2 (R Sharma 43; Buttler 6)
Finally a wicket to the fielding team. After Rohit Sharma took a single off the first ball of the over, Ambati Rayudu tried a slog-sweep. But he ended up picking Kane Richardson at deep mid-wicket. The Aussie bowler did well to complete the catch.
WICKET: Ambati Rayudu c Kane Richardson b Iqbal Abdulla 31 (23b)
Jos Buttler is the new man, and hit Iqbal Abdulla for a four off the fifth ball. Eight runs and a wicket.
Over 10 || Score 81/1 (R Sharma 43; Rayudu 31)
Harshal Patel returned for his second lot, and a dot ball to Rohit Sharma to start the over. A misfield at deep mid-wicket by Iqbal Abdulla allowed Rohit to steal a second run. A dot ball, then another single.
Out of nowhere, Ambati Rayudu hit a four with an unconventional pull shot. The timing of the shot beat the fielder at long-leg.
That rather fortuitous boundary shot was followed by a traditional lofted straight drive, which yielded same results.
11 runs from the over. Mumbai Indians need another 90 runs from 60 balls, and they are right on top at the moment.
Over 9 || Score 70/1 (R Sharma 40; Rayudu 23)
The search for wicket on as Virat Kohli introduced another bowler, in Iqbal Abdullah.
The slow left-arm bowler started with a dot ball to Rohit Sharma. Then, five singles followed in a busy over.
Over 8 || Score 65/1 (R Sharma 37; Rayudu 21)
Ever reliable Shane Watson returned for his second over, and leaked five runs only. All singles.
Mumbai Indians now need another 106 runs from 12 overs.
In between, Rohit Sharma and Ambati Rayudu have posted a 59-run second-wicket partnership from 6.5 overs.
Over 7 || Score 60/1 (R Sharma 34; Rayudu 19)
Another good over for Mumbai Indians even as Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Virat Kohli tried with a different bowler.
Harshal Patel started his spell with single to Rohit Sharma. A dot ball, then a single to Ambati Rayudu. A dot ball, then Rohit executed a Natraj shot, with the ball sailing over for a six between the long leg and deep square leg.
A single to end the over. Nine runs from the over.
Over 6 || Score 51/1 (R Sharma 26; Rayudu 18)
Virat Kohli introduced his weapon of choice Shane Watson. A single to Rohit Sharma, which was followed by two more singles.
Then the experienced Aussie all-rounder sprayed one on the off side, a wide. It was followed by an excellent delivery, which shaped away in the last moment and beat Ambati Rayudu's bat.
Then, off the last ball, a four through cover to spoil an otherwise good over's figures. Eight runs from it.
And break. Time-Out.
Over 5 || Score 43/1 (R Sharma 24; Rayudu 13)
Varun Aaron on for his third over on the trot. A single off the first ball as Ambati Rayudu picked his yorker. Then, the first six of the innings. Rohit Sharma picked the slower bouncer well and played a pull shot over mid-wicket boundary.
Two singles and the skipper played a scoop shot, which sailed over backward square-leg fielder, for a four.
A no-ball, for high full-toss. Rayudu ended the over with a four, over point.
19 runs from the over. Mumbai need 128 more runs from 15 overs.
Over 4 || Score 24/1 (R Sharma 12; Rayudu 7)
Ten runs from Kane Richardson's second over as Mumbai Indians gained some traction in the middle.
Rohit Sharma started with a four, top-edged over the slip cordon. A single, the another four, this time to Ambati Rayudu, through cover. A single, and a dot ball to end the over.
Mumbai Indians need another 147 runs from 16 overs.
Over 3 || Score 14/1 (R Sharma 7; Rayudu 2)
Another tidy over from Varun Aaron. Two dot balls off the first two deliveries, then Ambati Rayudu took a single.
Rohit Sharma then blocked two balls, then took a single. A direct hit from Travis Head fielding at backward point and Rayudu was gone. But instead, the attempt resulted in four overthrows.
In between, Rohit holds the dubious run-out record in IPL. 26! Off those, 18 times he has run out partners.
Over 2 || Score 8/1 (R Sharma 2; Rayudu 1)
Kane Richardson, playing his first match of the season, started his spell with a wicket. Parthiv Patel tried to pull the bouncer, but it hurried onto him and the result, a thick top-edge.
At point, AB de Villiers took some time and nerves to complete the catch. The ball clung to his outstretched fingers.
WICKET: Parthiv Patel c AB de Villiers b Kane Richardson 5 (6b)
Ambati Rayudu, the new man, got his first ball off the last delivery of the over, and he took a single.
Off the previous delivery, Rohit Sharma almost forced Rayudu to commit to a non-existent single.
Two runs and a wicket from the over.
Over 1 || Score 6/0 (R Sharma 1; P Patel 5)
Varun Aaron opened Royal Challengers Bangalore's defence, with a single to Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma.
Rohit's opening partner, Parthiv Pathiv, then played two dot balls, before picking a slower delivery for a four through cover.
A wild swing followed from the former Indian wicket-keeper. No harm, though, as his bat missed the ball.
A single to end the over.
ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE INNINGS
Over 20 || Score 170/7 (Richardson 1; Patel 0)
What a final over from Jasprit Bumrah. Three wickets and eight, including those of Travis Head, Sarfaraz Head and Stuart Binny.
The over started with the wicket of Head. Run Out. Good throw from Harbhajan Singh from square leg boundary.
WICKET: Travis Head run out 37 (24b)
A single to new man Stuart Binny, then Khan holed out at short fine leg, with Krunal Pandya taking the catch.
WICKET: Sarfaraz Khan c Krunal Pandya b jasprit Bumrah 28 (18b)
Then, another wicket, this time Binny giving an easy catch at Hardik Pandya at long-off.
WICKET: Stuart Binny c Hardik Pandya b Jasprit Bumrah 1 (2b)
Bumrah, however, missed a chance to take the first hat-trick of the season, as Kane Richardson played the last ball of the innings gently towards cover.
Bumrah's figures, impressive as ever, 4-0-31-3.
Over 19 || Score 161/4 (Head 36; Sarfaraz 22)
Mitchell McClenaghan on for his last over, and he was welcomed back with an intelligent pull shot by young Sarfaraz Khan. A slower bouncer, and Khan waited to pull between deep square and mid-wicket fielders. Fielding dissection class.
Another slower delivery and a bye followed. Then Travis Head kneeled and carted one over deep square leg boundary for a huge six.
A yorker, then a quick single.
Khan played similar shot he had played four balls ago, but with a different result. This time for a six over mid-wicket.
18 runs from the over.
Over 18 || Score 143/4 (Head 29; Sarfaraz 12)
Pretty predictable from Sarfaraz Khan to try to play over the wicket-keeper's head once again. But Jasprit Bumrah is smart as it gets for any bowler. A dot ball as Khan missed a slower delivery. Wasted scoop.
A single, then Travis Head hit a four, beating short fine leg and deep square leg fielders. Two singles followed, then a misfield at long-on by Tim Southee allowed two runs.
Nine runs from the over.
Over 17 || Score 134/4 (Head 22; Sarfaraz 10)
Mitchell McClenaghan returned for his third over. A single to Sarfaraz Khan, then a dot to Travis Head. Then the Aussie youngster hit a straight four.
A quick double off a slower delivery, which was referred to the third umpire to check if Head has made the ground on return.
Another double off a slower, wider delivery. Head failed to time and make proper contact. Good bowling from McClenaghan. A bouncer, which resulted in a top-edge from Head. Two runs.
Busy over, 11 runs from it. Head and Khan have together stitched a 5-run stand in 21 balls.
Over 16 || Score 123/4 (Head 12; Sarfaraz 9)
It can happened to anybody! Krunal Pandya, who had two wickets in an over a while ago, started with an awful looking delivery which went for four byes. Missing Travis Head's leg stumps by miles.
A single, then a dot ball to Sarfaraz Khan. Two singles followed, then a double to Khan. And another single to end the over.
Pnadya completed his spell, for figures of 4-0-27-2.
Over 15 || Score 112/4 (Head 10; Sarfaraz 5)
Having accounted the cream of RCB batting line-up, Rohit Sharma brought back Hardik Pandya into the attack.
Pandya started his second over with a dot ball, which was followed by a dot, and two singles.
Then, young Aussie batsman Travis Head showed his hitting prowess with a huge six, over the square leg boundary. Deep into the stands.
A single to end the over. Nine from the over.
Over 14 || Score 103/4 (Head 2; Sarfaraz 4)
Brilliant bowling change from Rohit Sharma. Jasprit Bumrah sent back a struggling Shane Watson back. Good catch behind the wickets to complete the sending off rituals.
WICKET: Shane Watson c Parthiv Patel b Jasprit Bumrah 5 (10b)
That happened off the third ball of the over. After three balls, new man Sarfaraz Khan played a cheeky shot to open his accounts. A four, over the wicket keeper's head.
BREAK.
Over 13 || Score 98/3 (Watson 5; Head 1)
The double-wicket over was followed by a tidy spell from Tim Southee. Three runs from the over. Thus Southee ended his bowling duty for today. His figures: 4-0-25-0.
Then Krunal Pandya returned for his third over, and only two singles. Brilliant.
Meanwhile Travis Head got his first IPL run, with a single off the fourth ball of the 13th over.
In the last five overs, RCB scored 32 runs losing two wickets.
Over 11 || Score 93/3 (Watson 1; Head 0)
Rohit Sharma brought back Krunal Panday, and it proved a master-stroke.
A double to Virat Kohli, to start the over, then the big wicket. Virat Kohli tried a lofted shot, and it managed to reach only the long-off rope, where Tim Southee took a cool catch.
WICKET: Virat Kohli c Tim Southee b Krunal Pandya 33 (30b)
A single to AB de Villiers, then new man Shane Watson opened his account with a single. A dot ball followed, then another big wicket. Good stumping to send back de Villiers back.
WICKET: AB de Villiers st Parthiv Patel b Krunal Pandya 29 (21b)
Travis Head is the new man.
Over 10 || Score 89/1 (Kohli 31; de Villiers 28)
Looking for a wicket, Rohit Hardik introduced Pandya Pandya into the attack. A thick edge, which could have ended crashing onto the wickets, meant a single for AB de Villiers.
A dot ball off the second ball, to Virat Kohli. A leg bye, then de Villiers lofted a good length ball which just about managed to clear the mid-wicket boundary.
Two singles followed, and 10 runs from the over.
The second wicket partnership yielded 57 runs in 6.1 overs for RCB.
Over 9 || Score 79/1 (Kohli 30; de Villiers 20)
Harbhajan Singh continued, and a wide to start his second over, on the leg side.
Then the class of Virat Kohli on show. The South African, on his back-foot, played a perfect cut shot which raced to point boundary. A single, then AB de Villiers played a delicate glance on the move. It beat the fielder at backward square leg, and another four.
Three singles and 13 runs from the over.
Over 8 || Score 66/1 (Kohli 24; de Villiers 14)
Krunal Pandya, the left-arm spinner, on after the strategic time-out. His has been a the story of IPL 9 so far.
The over started with a single to Virat Kohli, a wide followed, then three more singles. It was followed by a double with Kieron Pollard fielding at long-off. Another wide, and a single to end the over.
Ten runs from the over. Busy one, without a boundary.
Over 7 || Score 56/1 (Kohli 19; de Villiers 12)
Double bowling change, and Harbhajan Singh on. And what a mixed-up that was between AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli, off the very first ball.
de Villiers played it towards the mid-wicket fielder and off for a single, but Kohli at the non-striker's end stopped abruplty seeing Rohit Sharma on the ball. A throw to wicket kepper Parthiv Patel, who dislodged the bails, but failed to beat a very very fast de Villiers to the clock.
Two singles and a wide followed, before de Villiers hit a four to end the over. A well executed reverse sweep to beat the fielder at backward point. Seven runs from the over.
BREAK.
Over 6 || Score 49/1 (Kohli 18; de Villiers 7)
First bowling change of the match. Rohit Sharma brought in Japrit Bumrah into the attack. Good first over from the young Indian pacer.
A single to start the over, to Virat Kolhi. It was followed by three singles with the two experienced batsmen playing with caution.
A four, lucky one for Kohli, to end the over after a blocking the fifth ball. The last ball, shirt and wide, found a thick edge and ran for a four.
Over 5 || Score 41/1 (Kohli 12; de Villiers 5)
A quiet over as compared to the frenetic one we just witnessed. But still, Tim Southee ended up leaking nine runs with Virat Kohli and Ab de Villiers on strike.
The over started with a two, thanks to Jasprit Bumrah's brilliant fielding at long leg. A single followed from the blade of Kohli.
A dot ball to de Villiers. Then the South African played a perfect pull shot, from the back-foot, for his first four.
Over 4 || Score 32/1 (Kohli 8; de Villiers 0)
Lokesh Rahul is not Chris Gayle, but still packs a punch. After enduring a barrage of bouncers in the previous to previous over, Rahul returned the favours to Mitchell McClenaghan.
A single to start the over, then Rahul hit the first six of the match. A bouncer which was hit with some conviction over the third man fielder.
It was followed by a ramp-shot over the wicket-keeper. Back-to-b-back sixes. Bouncers going for runs.
It was followed by a four, beating the fine leg fielder.
But the Kiwi fact bowler had the last laugh. Good catch at first slip by Harbhajan Singh.
WICKET: Lokesh rahul c Harbhajan Singh b Mitchell McClenaghan 23 (14b)
AB de Villiers is the new man. 17 runs and a wicket from the over.
Over 3 || Score 15/0 (Kohli 7; Rahul 7)
Tim Southee continued for his second over, and Virat Kohli thought, probably of disturbing the line and length by coming down the pitch, but nothing coming for the batting team.
After two dot balls, Kohli played a classic flick shot and first four of the match, through square leg.
A single followed, then Lokesh Rahul almost got himself run out. Kohli, sensing the onrushing fielder from mid-wicket denied the call.
A bouncer, and four byes to end the over.
Over 2 || Score 6/0 (Kohli 2; Rahul 3)
Helmet shaken and so thus Lokesh Rahul. What a delivery from Mitchell McClenaghan to start his spell.
Rahul, on his back-foot, received a brutal delivery which crashed into his helmets. A leg bye for all the tension. Virat Kohli took a single, thus exposing Rahul to the pace battery from McClenaghan . Another couple of well-directed bouncers.
Rahul did try to counter with a a slashed shot, but was fielded at backward point.
Two runs from the over.
Over 1 || Score 4/0 (Kohli 1; Rahul 3)
Tim Southee started the proceedings with a good-length delivery, on the off stump, which Virat Kohli played with soft hands for a single. Lokesh Rahul blocked the next ball, then the 24-year-old from Bangalore ran two with a well-timed cover drive.
He played a pull shot, for a single, giving strike back to his skipper. Then a beauty of a delivery from the Kiwi pacer. The delivery, which pitched on the off stump line, shaped away at a vicious pace leaving Kohli confused. Almost a wicket.
A dot ball to end the over. Brilliant first over from Southee.
Teams warming up before the Wankhede clash
.@ImRo45 and his boys are warming-up ahead of their game against @RCBTweets #MIvRCB #VIVOIPLhttps://t.co/VhPnKEziUh
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 20, 2016
.@RCBTweets boys warming-up at the Wankhede #MIvRCB #VIVOIPLhttps://t.co/7KVQeZsUF0
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 20, 2016
Team news: Royal Challengers Bangalore, which lost to Delhi Daredevils despite posting 190+ runs, have made six changes.
Here's the RCB XI: Virat Kohli (capt.), Lokesh Rahul (wk), AB de Villiers, Shane Watson, Travis Head, Sarfaraz Khan, Stuart Binny, Kane Richardson, Iqbal Abdulla, Varun Aaron, Harshal Patel
And for Mumbai, Kieron Pollard returns, for Martin Guptill who made only 2 against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Monday.
MI XI: Rohit Sharma (capt.), Parthiv Patel (wk), Ambati Rayudu, Hardik Pandya, Jos Buttler, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Harbhajan Singh, Tim Southee, Mitchell McClenaghan, Jasprit Bumrah
TOSS: Rohit Sharma won the toss, and has asked Royal Challengers Bangalore to bat first in Mumbai.
Match officials:
Umpires: Anil Chaudhary and CK Nandan
Third Umpire: Nand Kishore
Match Referee: Roshan Mahanama
Reserve Umpire: Rohan Pandit
SQUADS
Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma (capt.), Parthiv Patel, Hardik Pandya, Jos Buttler, Mitchell McClenaghan, Ambati Rayudu, Kieron Pollard, Harbhajan Singh, Jagadeesha Suchith, Tim Southee, Jasprit Bumrah, Shreyas Gopal, R Vinay Kumar, Corey Anderson, Unmukht Chand, Marchant de Lange, Siddhesh Lad, Kishore Kamath, Krunal Pandya, Deepak Punia, Nitish Rana, Jitesh Sharma, Nathu Singh, Akshay Wakhare, Martin Guptill.
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Shane Watson, Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers, Virat Kohli (capt.), Stuart Binny, Iqbal Abdulla, Sreenath Aravind, Kedar Jadhav, Vikramjeet Malik, Kane Richardson, Varun Aaron, Mandeep Singh, Abu Nechim, Adam Milne, Yuzvendra Chahal, Harshal Patel, Travis Head, David Wiese, Sachin Baby, Lokesh Rahul, Parvez Rasool, Vikas Tokas, Sarfaraz Khan, Praveen Dubey, Akshay Karnewar.
Having lost three of their four matches so far, Mumbai Indians started their Indian Premier League (IPL) campaign in worst possible way.
The Rohit Sharma-led outfit now lies seventh in the eight-team competition. Another defeat today will put their season in a crisis.
Yes, they have endured much worse a start last term, but resurrection is always a job fraught with danger.
Taking on an under-fire MI outfit is a habitual under-achieving side from Bangalore. The Virat Kohli-led outfit won a match and lost to Delhi Daredevils in their second match despite posting a huge total.
The area of concern for RCB, as usual, is their over reliance of star-studded batting line-up. Scoring has never been a problem, but defending usually has been. And thus their lack of trophies.
And once again, when these two teams meet, it will be about stars and glitters.
READ FULL PREVIEW HERE
New Delhi: Welcome to our live coverage of the Match 14 of 2016 Indian Premier League between Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore, being played at at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.
