It was always going to be a clash of batting might, like an arm-wrestling face-off, between Mumbai Indians and Royals Challengers Bangalore spilling over on the field.
In the end it was the willow of the Bangalore outfit that proved to be better on Sunday. The scramble for the playoff spot stays wide open, making every match for teams in the scrum a crucial one.
Chasing a target of 235 was always going to be a formidable task. In such matches, the toss plays a crucial role. And RCB took the upper hand by electing to bat first at the Wankhede Stadium which was lit up by AB de Villiers’ century.
Difficult chase
The chase was progressing in the right direction, but the Indians needed to push things along faster. Rohit Sharma’s failure played a big role, and sending Ambati Rayudu in at No. 6 too did not prove to be a good move.
The experienced Rayudu has been in great form and his ability is wasted when he is sent low down in the order, especially after someone like youngster Hardik Pandya.
Promoting Kieron Pollard worked well enough. The partnership between West Indian players Pollard and Lendl Simmons was proving to be significant. While Pollard was on the aggressive, Simmons kept rotating the strike. But the stand ended prematurely to add more pressure on the side.
But it was always just too many runs to chase. If only the bowling had been little more effective.
Losing the initiative
When RCB batted, MI called the shots in the initial overs before the home team fielders became a helpless audience. They did well to pouch Chris Gayle’s wicket cheaply. The flamboyant Caribbean was coming in fresh after his century against Kings XI Punjab a couple of days ago. And then the rapturous crowd did most of the catching, primarily due to De Villiers’ magnificent effort and Virat Kohli playing an apt support role.
On a wicket where the ball came on to the bat with ease, the Mumbai Indians’ bowling attack lacked bite. Up against a team which perhaps has the most destructive batting line-up on pape, the Mumbai team needed a reinforced bowling attack.
Missing de Lange
Despite impressing against Chennai Super Kings, Marchant de Lange made way for Lasith Malinga. The Sri Lankan pacer was the most economical bowler for Mumbai, but he did not have support at the other end. A bowler like De Lange would have proved an able foil with his pace and variation.
When batsmen in the bracket of De Villiers and Kohli are on song, a good ploy against them would be express pace and innovation from the bowler. Besides, South African De Lange would definitely have had a trick or two to employ against his compatriot De Villiers, having played against him back home.
Left-arm pacer Mitchell McClenaghan does not seem to have the rub of the green working for him. Yet again in the tournament, fielders failed to take catches off his bowling. First it was Gayle, then it was Kohli. Such moments can demotivate a bowler. McClenaghan’s exasperation clearly said so. And, at this level, where mind games between players are intense on the field, such moments can have a negative effect on players.
Mumbai did control things for a few overs after Gayle dismissal. The checked run flow meant skipper Rohit Sharma could risk a spinner, J Suchith, in the final over of the Powerplay.
However, RCB saw that challenge off and rebuilt slowly before whirlwind batting took centrestage. Mumbai’s only hope would have been to focus the attack on Kohli, but then the RCB skipper is no easy prey.
Master of anticipation
Batting in T20 relies heavily on anticipation. De Villiers has the knack of picking up the line and length of bowlers very early. His flexibility allows him to play any shot in the book and also pull one out of nowhere with uncanny improvisation.
There is no field that can be set for De Villiers once he is in the groove. He is a fierce competitor, and does not give away his wicket easily. He uses the depth of crease to alter the length of deliveries. The best chances of getting the better of De Villiers is early in his innings, but that did not work on Sunday.
The off spin of Harbhajan Singh and Suchith gave De Villiers enough time to set himself up and exploit the empty spaces on the field. Medium-pacer Pandya proved to be easy pickings. Still wet behind the ears at this stage, Pandya needs to learn the art of reading batsmen’s minds. The Mumbai Indians just couldn’t do that against the Royal Challengers, and their five-match winning streak came to an end.
Mumbai will now have to keep a close eye on the net run rate, which could well have a say in deciding their playoff chances.
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In the end it was the willow of the Bangalore outfit that proved to be better on Sunday. The scramble for the playoff spot stays wide open, making every match for teams in the scrum a crucial one.
Chasing a target of 235 was always going to be a formidable task. In such matches, the toss plays a crucial role. And RCB took the upper hand by electing to bat first at the Wankhede Stadium which was lit up by AB de Villiers’ century.
Difficult chase
The chase was progressing in the right direction, but the Indians needed to push things along faster. Rohit Sharma’s failure played a big role, and sending Ambati Rayudu in at No. 6 too did not prove to be a good move.
The experienced Rayudu has been in great form and his ability is wasted when he is sent low down in the order, especially after someone like youngster Hardik Pandya.
Promoting Kieron Pollard worked well enough. The partnership between West Indian players Pollard and Lendl Simmons was proving to be significant. While Pollard was on the aggressive, Simmons kept rotating the strike. But the stand ended prematurely to add more pressure on the side.
But it was always just too many runs to chase. If only the bowling had been little more effective.
Losing the initiative
When RCB batted, MI called the shots in the initial overs before the home team fielders became a helpless audience. They did well to pouch Chris Gayle’s wicket cheaply. The flamboyant Caribbean was coming in fresh after his century against Kings XI Punjab a couple of days ago. And then the rapturous crowd did most of the catching, primarily due to De Villiers’ magnificent effort and Virat Kohli playing an apt support role.
On a wicket where the ball came on to the bat with ease, the Mumbai Indians’ bowling attack lacked bite. Up against a team which perhaps has the most destructive batting line-up on pape, the Mumbai team needed a reinforced bowling attack.
Missing de Lange
Despite impressing against Chennai Super Kings, Marchant de Lange made way for Lasith Malinga. The Sri Lankan pacer was the most economical bowler for Mumbai, but he did not have support at the other end. A bowler like De Lange would have proved an able foil with his pace and variation.
When batsmen in the bracket of De Villiers and Kohli are on song, a good ploy against them would be express pace and innovation from the bowler. Besides, South African De Lange would definitely have had a trick or two to employ against his compatriot De Villiers, having played against him back home.
Left-arm pacer Mitchell McClenaghan does not seem to have the rub of the green working for him. Yet again in the tournament, fielders failed to take catches off his bowling. First it was Gayle, then it was Kohli. Such moments can demotivate a bowler. McClenaghan’s exasperation clearly said so. And, at this level, where mind games between players are intense on the field, such moments can have a negative effect on players.
Mumbai did control things for a few overs after Gayle dismissal. The checked run flow meant skipper Rohit Sharma could risk a spinner, J Suchith, in the final over of the Powerplay.
However, RCB saw that challenge off and rebuilt slowly before whirlwind batting took centrestage. Mumbai’s only hope would have been to focus the attack on Kohli, but then the RCB skipper is no easy prey.
Master of anticipation
Batting in T20 relies heavily on anticipation. De Villiers has the knack of picking up the line and length of bowlers very early. His flexibility allows him to play any shot in the book and also pull one out of nowhere with uncanny improvisation.
There is no field that can be set for De Villiers once he is in the groove. He is a fierce competitor, and does not give away his wicket easily. He uses the depth of crease to alter the length of deliveries. The best chances of getting the better of De Villiers is early in his innings, but that did not work on Sunday.
The off spin of Harbhajan Singh and Suchith gave De Villiers enough time to set himself up and exploit the empty spaces on the field. Medium-pacer Pandya proved to be easy pickings. Still wet behind the ears at this stage, Pandya needs to learn the art of reading batsmen’s minds. The Mumbai Indians just couldn’t do that against the Royal Challengers, and their five-match winning streak came to an end.
Mumbai will now have to keep a close eye on the net run rate, which could well have a say in deciding their playoff chances.