Chennai: A superb five-wicket haul from Harshal Patel was backed up by yet another scintillating innings by AB de Villiers as Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) beat Mumbai Indians (MI) by two wickets.
In a thrilling start to IPL 2021 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, pacer Patel’s 5 for 27 restricted MI to 159 for 9. RCB stuttered in their chase, but not for the first time, De Villiers lifted them with a brilliant knock of 48 off 27 balls.
Harshal Patel took the IPL’s first five-wicket haul against Mumbai, returning 5 for 27 in four overs, ripping the heart out of Mumbai’s monster hitters with a variety of slower balls and inch-perfect yorkers to keep the IPL’s winning-est side to just 159 for 9.
The Royal Challengers then had the game well in hand with 62 needed off 46 and eight wickets in hand, but a collapse ensued with Mumbai clawing back every inch of the way into the contest. However, they couldn’t get past AB de Villiers – not until the final over when he was run out – who had done enough to put his team in a position where they could get over the line.
Ealier, Mumbai had a solid start but RCB made a comeback as Rohit departed on a run out. Chris Lynn and Suryakumar Yadav continued the attack giving Mumbai a good platform. RCB managed to stage a comeback in the slog overs as Harshal Patel scalped five wickets.
Harshal Patel produced a death over masterclass with a five-wicket haul as Mumbai Indians achieved a par score of 159 for nine against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL opener here on Friday.
Mumbai Indians Playing 11:
Rohit Sharma(c), Chris Lynn, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan(w), Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Rahul Chahar, Marco Jansen, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah
Royal Challengers Bangalore Playing 11:
Virat Kohli(c), Rajat Patidar, AB de Villiers(w), Glenn Maxwell, Daniel Christian, Washington Sundar, Kyle Jamieson, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Shahbaz Ahmed, Yuzvendra Chahal