Brief Score: Royal Challengers Bengaluru (240/4 in 20 overs) beat Mumbai Indians (222/5 in 20 overs) by 18 runs on Sunday in Mumbai. HIGHLIGHTS | SCORECARD
It was a night of some throwback music at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday, April 12. The fans and the players started the game by remembering the late great Asha Bhosleand her classic numbers rang through the stadium during the match. But when it came to RCB’s batting, it was just pure rock and roll.
And the encore came in the form of a sudden siege—RCB, RCB chants that drowned Mumbai on the day and handed them their third consecutive loss. It was at this very ground that RCB made their title aspirations clear in 2025 with a statement win against MI. Wankhede was also the venue where they scored 235 for the loss of one wicket in 2015. And tonight, they just made it a bit more. Correction, a little bit more Salt-y.
The defending champions were looking to return to form after the hammering they got from Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and RR in their previous game. MI, too, had received similar treatment and was looking to bounce back after two back-to-back losses.
Winning the toss is always seen as an advantage, and Hardik Pandya got the rub of the green and opted to bowl first. The chance to bowl at Phil Salt was seen as a good one for the MI bowlers given his poor form in 2026. Kohli, on the other hand, looked to be in fine touch and raring to go.
The star batter started with a six off the third ball and then, suddenly, it seemed like form just magically transferred from Kohli to Salt as the Englishman started to go berserk at the Wankhede.
SALT PEPPERS THE SPINNERS
The Wankhede is seen as a graveyard for bowlers, and if you are a spinner, the chances of returning with decent figures are rare. Hardik had the luxury of calling in Mitchell Santner, and he was welcomed by Salt with a hat-trick of sixes and a boundary.
Mayank Markande also received similar treatment on the night, conceding three boundaries off his first three balls and then a six. Salt got to his fifty in just 50 balls, and it was a welcome relief for him after a rather underwhelming start to the season.
MI’s powerplay bowling has been a real worry for them this season, and the inability to stop Salt meant RCB raced to 95 runs in 8 overs.
KOHLI’S DAY OFF
While Salt went hard at finding runs, at the other end it looked like Kohli just couldn’t find any sort of rhythm. Over the last couple of years, Kohli’s change in approach had been seen as the benchmark for the rest of the veterans on how to reinvent themselves.
After starting with a few great shots, Kohli’s striking fell off and, till the first strategic break, he seemed to be just a passenger as Salt took control.
As soon as the break ended, Kohli hit a couple of boundaries to raise hopes, but as soon as Salt was dismissed for 78 off 36 balls, he once again went into a shell.
Thankfully for RCB, Rajat Patidar walked in like a man possessed and went hard at the bowlers from the get-go. MI have usually made their way into contests during the middle overs, but the RCB skipper ensured nothing of that sort happened.
He took down Mayank Markande for 20 runs and then Shardul Thakur for 23. At one point, it seemed that Yashasvi Jaiswal’s fastest fifty record was under serious threat.
When Patidar came in, Kohli was on 39 after 11 overs, and by the end of the 14th, the difference was just three runs. Kohli got his fifty but was dismissed soon after, and the reaction spoke a thousand words.
He threw away his gloves and helmet in anguish on the way back. It’s not always possible to stay committed to the same method, and this may have just been a glitch for Kohli.
DOES MI HAVE A BUMRAH ISSUE?
On paper, MI are a world-class side, and their crown jewel is Jasprit Bumrah. But recently, his exploits haven’t yielded the desired results.
In his last five games, he has remained wicketless—the longest such stretch since he started playing in the IPL.
The effect of Bumrah being off-colour could be felt on the rest of the bowlers, who continued to leak runs as Patidar got to his fifty. They were joined by former MI player Tim David, who took on Hardik first in the 18th over and then Bumrah in the 19th.
He then finished things off with a six off the final ball as RCB posted 240 runs.
ROHIT’S INDIFFERENT DAY
The day was billed as a Ro-Ko battle, and rightfully so. They are currently the two biggest names in Indian cricket, but both had an underwhelming day by their standards. Rohit started off as second fiddle to Ryan Rickelton, who struck a few big shots and ensured that MI kept up with the run rate early on. However, it just felt like MI were always playing catch up.
“We are planning about it, how to get momentum in the powerplay. In batting or bowling, we are catching up in the powerplay. A lot of options will be asked and thrown in the next game,” said Hardik.
Rohit got going in the fourth over with a six off Duffy and a couple of boundaries. But then, the former MI skipper began to struggle with a hamstring issue and left the field.
That coincided with a sudden drop in momentum for Mumbai, who lost their way. The eighth over ended Rickelton’s stay, and Tilak Varma’s poor run of form continued as Suyash claimed both men. There was a brief phase of resistance—or rather defiance—from Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya, who put together a 47-run stand. But Krunal came in to haunt his former side, dismissing Suryakumar and pushing MI further into disarray.
Once Hardik was dismissed in the 15th over, the writing was on the wall. This was a recurring issue, also seen during the loss to RR, where scoreboard pressure came back to haunt them. The first game against KKR now seems like a false dawn for the five-time champions, as ending the opening-match jinx hasn’t helped them in any meaningful way.
The middle order seems to lack both form and firepower, despite the presence of T20 World Cup winners in the lineup. There was hope in the form of Sherfane Rutherford, who fought a lone battle in the end, scoring 71 off 31 balls, which included nine sixes.
For RCB, they got the win and their season back on track, and will now head home to face LSG on Wednesday, April 15.
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