Match Review-Royal Challengers Bangalore Vs Mumbai Indians-Match No.48-Dream 11 IPL 2020

 Welcome to another match review and today we are reviewing match no.48 held between the Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore.  If you want to just recollect the reverse fixture, then please click the following link.  Match Review-Royal Challengers Bangalore Vs Mumbai Indians-Match No.10-Dream 11 IPL 2020 .

Exactly if you rewind one month back, you would be seeing these two teams battling it out at Dubai.  Yes, this match was held exactly one month after the reverse fixture which was held in Dubai on the 28th of September, so now, let us get to today's review and this game is the game where we get to find who is the best side in this IPL.  Because it is a clash between the top 2.  And the winner gets qualified to the playoffs.  So let us get to the toss first.

1.  The Toss:

           The toss was won by the Mumbai Indians and their stand-in-skipper Kieron Pollard decided to bowl first on greenish Abu Dhabi wicket which gives equal chances for both batting first and chasing sides.  So the toss was not a decisive factor.  And Mumbai didn't make any changes as injured Rohit Sharma has not yet returned.

  And as far as RCB are concerned, they made numberous changes as they replaced Moeen Ali with Dale Steyn and Aaron Finch with Joshua Phillipe.  So let us get to the first innings.

2.  First Innings:

           The first innings started by and Phillipe was sent in with Devdutt Padikkal to open the innings.  And they gave a very good start for RCB as they scored 54 in the powerplay.  Both Padikkal and Joshua Phillipe were playing splendid shots and they were well set to take on the MI bowlers.  After the powerplay, they continued to attack the spinners, but Rahul Chahar came in to break the partnership when it was 71 runs old.  Any how it was a splendid start to the innings.  Padikkal was well set and he was joined by captain Kohli.  But Kohli didn't last long as Pollard brought in Bumrah to take his wicket.  Padikkal continued to attack but the run rate went on getting down.  Then, Padikkal got to his fifty and he was toying with the MI bowlers, especially Rahul Chahar.  De Villiers once again threatened Mumbai but Kieron Pollard took the ball in his hand and he bowled a full toss which was mishit by De Villiers.  Then, the ball went straight into the hands of Rahul Chahar who took a simple catch.

  Then, when RCB were preparing themselves for a strong finish, Jasprit Bumrah stood in their path as he dismissed both Padikkal and Shivam Dube in one over and didn't concede a single run as well.  Then, all eyes were on Chris Morris but he too perished to a Trent Boult bouncer.  Suddenly, they lost 3 wickets in the space of 4 runs.  But somehow Sundar and Gurkeerat gobbled up a 26 run stand to get the score to 164.  164 is a very decent total at Abu Dhabi, but we saw RR chase a 191 against MI very easily.  So it would be very difficult for RCB if they don't pick wickets initially.  So let us get to the chase. 

3.  Second Innings: 

            The chase was nothing more than a formality, because MI didn't really have big struggles in between.  They had a decent start, accompanied by a slow scoring rate until the 10th over.  But after the 10th over, the second innings took a turn as Suryakumar Yadav was scoring boundaries for fun.  Ishan Kishan and De Kock gave a good start, but no one capitalized on their starts.  But Suryakumar was clear, he had set his mind for a big knock.  And he did it pretty well.  In the middle period Krunal Pandya was dismissed cheaply, but his brother gave a nice resistance to Suryakumar Yadav as they put up a 51 run stand in which Suryakumar made the majority of the runs.  MI looked a bit slow in their approach but, they were literally cruising.  At the end of the 19th over, Hardik Pandya got out to Chris Morris.  With 6 required off 7 balls.  But Surya crossed over and hit a 4 to secure the win for MI.

  Then, Pollard faced just 1 ball in the last over to finish the game.  Dale Steyn had a bad day just because he was confused a lot about what lengths to bowl.  His speed had not gone down a single bit, because he was bowling over 145 for fun.  He just missed his length.  Siraj was good, Chahal was expensive, Sundar, economical as he is always.  RCB were outplayed just by one good batting innnings.  They were also outplayed by a quality opposition.  Now, RCB will be feeling the pressure, because KXIP can overtake them if they win another game.  And KKR also have a nice chance of getting to the playoffs.  So the next 6 match ups are so crucial and today we have a very important game as CSK will taking on KKR who are aspiring a playoff spot.  But will CSK play the spoilparty, let us wait for today's fixture, but for now, i leave you with the final summary.  

Final Summary:

         RCB: 164/6  20 Overs

         D.Padikkal: 74(45); J.Phillipe: 33(24)

         J.Bumrah: 3/14 (4)

         MI: 166/4  19.1 Overs

         S.Yadav: 79*(43); I.Kishan: 25(19)

         M.Siraj: 2/28 (3.1)

Man Of The Match: Suryakumar Yadav (Mumbai Indians)