IPL: Mumbai Indians mow down 200 to jump from eighth to third
SUMMARY: Mumbai Indians 200-4 (Suryakumar 83, Wadhera 52*, Vyshak 2-37) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore 199-6 (Maxwell 68, du Plessis 65, Behrendorff 3-36) by six wickets
If ever you needed an example of a team walking home in a 200 chase without any stress, this was it.
And in doing so, Mumbai Indians fired their IPL 2023 campaign into orbit as they made a stunning climb from No. 8 to No. 3 after razing Royal Challengers Bangalore in another six-fest at the Wankhede.
At the forefront of their march were Suryakumar Yadav and Nehal Wadhera, who put together 140 off just 64 balls in a sensational spell of on-demand boundary hitting that had seasoned bowlers such as Josh Hazlewood, Wanindu Hasaranga and Harshal Patel searching for answers.
From 101 needed off 60, Suryakumar’s pyrotechnics that brought him his IPL best – a 35-ball 83 – brought the equation down to 8 off 26 when he walked off to a standing ovation.
It was his fourth fifty-plus score in his last six outings, marking a sensational turnaround in fortunes after a cold first half.
Suryakumar’s partner for much of that innings, Wadhera, made the most of his promotion up the order in Tilak Varma’s absence due to a niggle.
The ferocity of their partnership had a deflating effect on RCB, who now join a cluttered mid-table that has four teams on 10 points with a possibility of a fifth joining there on Wednesday night.
The Maxwell-Faf show
RCB’s soft middle-order has been a cause for concern all season, but Maxwell and du Plessis weren’t going to die wondering. In fact, du Plessis took two fours off Puyish Chawla and continued the attack against Cameron Green.
On the other side of the Powerplay, Maxwell welcomed Chris Jordan – Jofra Archer’s replacement in the XI – by pumping him for two sixes in his very first over to raise the half-century of the partnership off just 25 balls.
As it turned out, it was just the start of the mayhem that was to follow.
Du Plessis was all muscle, backing away to swing cleanly if he wasn’t lofting through the line on instinct.
Maxwell was a mix of the inventive and the ridiculous, switch-hitting, slog-sweeping, scooping and reverse-ramping his way, treating the bowling with such disdain that you wondered if Mumbai were in for a target in the vicinity of 230.
The pair had put on 120 off just 60 balls when Maxwell dragged one across the line to deep midwicket for a 33-ball 68. (ESPNcricinfo)
