Rawat, Kohli guide RCB to 7-wicket win over MI

Pune, April 9: Mumbai Indians’ season of woes just got a tad worse after the five-time champions followed another high-profile team Chennai Super Kings to lose their fourth match on the bounce as Royal Challengers Bangalore cantered to an easy seven-wicket win in an IPL match on Saturday.
It was Suryakumar Yadav’s unbeaten 68 that gave Mumbai Indians a respectable total of 151 for 6 but that was never going to be enough as young Anuj Rawat (66 off 47 balls) struck his maiden IPL fifty, anchoring the team to the target in just 18.3 overs.
He had two fifty plus partnerships – 50 for opening stand with skipper Faf du Plessis (16) and 80 with former skipper and his West Delhi Cricket Academy senior Virat Kohli (48 off 36 balls) for the second wicket to seal the issue.
Mumbai Indians are currently last in the table of 10 teams because of inferior net run-rate compared to CSK.
Earlier, Rohit and Ishan Kishan’s flamboyant start was followed by an inexplicable batting collapse before the indomitable Suryakumar gave MI’s total semblance of respectability.
For RCB, Harshal Patel (2/23) was brilliant with his variations. MI were 50 for no loss after the Powerplay but in the next four overs, lost as many as five wickets to become 62 for five and subsequently 79 for six before Suryakumar with his 15th IPL fifty, took them to a decent total.
Suryakumar took charge with MI tottering at 79 for 6 and added 72 off 41 balls with Jaydev Unadkat (13). For Rohit (26), this IPL so far has been about playing some breathtaking shots but not getting a big score as he raced to 26 before Harshal’s slow off-cutter did the trick, taking a return catch.
Playing second fiddle, Kishan’s (26) attempt to use the pace of Bengal speedster Akash Deep in his bid to play the ramp shot became his undoing as he was caught in the third man region.
Dewald Brevis (8) found it difficult to negotiate the wrist spin of Wanindu Hasaranga (2/28 in 4 overs) and was rapped on the back-pad.
A slog swept six over deep mid-wicket off Hasaranga and a near 100-metre slog flick off Mohammed Siraj were a treat as Suryakumar followed it up with a ramped six as 23 came off the penultimate over. (PTI)