Glenn-Faf ensure RCB set 200-run target for Mumbai Indians

RCB’s Glenn Maxwell cuts one during his 33-ball 68 against MI at the Wankhede yesterday. Pic/Ashish Raje

When Mumbai Indians (MI) skipper Rohit Sharma won the toss and put Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in to bat at the Wankhede Stadium on Tuesday, it looked a wise decision.

MI's left-arm pacer Jason Behrendorff (3-36) struck early too, but RCB skipper Faf du Plessis (41-ball 65, 5x4, 3x6) and Glenn Maxwell's (33-ball 68, 8x4, 4x6) attacking batting saw the post 199-6 off their 20 overs.

Also Read: Rohit Sharma's struggles with bat is mental, not technical: Sehwag

RCB's most successful batters - Du Plessis and Virat Kohli (1) found themselves on the back foot in the very first over. Behrendorff almost had Du Plessis on the fourth ball, but Nehal Wadhera dropped him at short midwicket. On the next ball Behrendorff sent back Kohli, who tried to hit over long-on; Ishan Kishan accepting the thick edge behind the stumps. In his second over, Behrendorff had one-drop Anuj Rawat (6), who tried to sweep, only for Cameron Green (1-15) to take an easy catch running back from slip. Maxwell and Du Plessis continued batting aggressively though with the former reaching his fourth IPL-16 half-century off just 25 balls while the latter got to his seventh fifty of this IPL in just 30 balls.