A length ball from Harshal again and new batter Arshad whacks it over long-on for a beautiful six. Tilak gets another boundary as he guides the ball through mid-wicket. A no-ball follows next and Arshad gets a single off the free hit.
02 April,2023 12:03 AM IST | Bengaluru | mid-day online correspondent
Glenn Maxwell, AB de Villiers (Pic: @IPL/Twitter/BCCI)
A well balanced squad at their disposal, Royal Challengers Bangalore will look to maintain their recent winning momentum against Mumbai Indians when the two sides clash in their opening match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 on Sunday. Bengaluru boasts of three consecutive victories against Rohit Sharma and Co. in their last five meetings since the 14th edition of the tournament. The franchise, led by Faf du Plessis, with the ever-experienced Virat Kohli by his side, would want to make the most of their campaign opener in a desperate bid for maiden title win in the league.
However, with the likes of Rajat Patidar and Josh Hazlewood having been sidelined for at least the first half of this IPL due to injuries, a lot remains at stake for the side. It will be hard for the side to find someone fill in the shoes of Patidar, who was their third highest-scorer last year with 333 runs in eight matches at 55.50, including two fifties. He hit the fastest century by an Indian in IPL in the Qualifier 1. If Patidar contributed with consistent flow of runs, Hazlewood, on the other hand, was the team's second most successful bowler with 20 wickets in 20 matches.
Mumbai Indians, on the other hand, finished the last edition lurking at bottom of the points table with only four wins from 14 matches. Mumbai, which is the most successful team in IPL history with five trophies in their cabinet, will aim to put their best foot forward against a formidable RCB side.
Without their ace bowler Jasprit Bumrah and Jhye Richardson who are ruled out for the season, MI's hopes will be pinned on Jofra Archer to fill the void and guide the other bowlers that the team management has marked out. Captain Sharma and the experienced Suryakumar Yadav will be the linchpins in the batting order, alongside youngsters Tilak Verma, Dewald Brevis, Tristan Stubbs and Tim David for company.
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Wicketkeeper: Dinesh Karthik
Batters: Rohit Sharma (c), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Tim David
All-rounders: Michael Bracewell, Cameron Green, Shahbaz Ahmed
Bowlers: Reece Topley, Mohammed Siraj, Jofra Archer (vc)
Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma, Sandeep Warrier, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Dewald Brevis, Tilak Varma, Jofra Archer, Tim David, Mohd Arshad Khan, Ramandeep Singh, Hrithik Shokeen, Arjun Tendulkar, Tristan Stubbs, Kumar Kartikeya, Jason Behrendorff, Akash Madhwal, Cameron Green, Jhye Richardson, Piyush Chawla, Duan Jansen, Vishnu Vinod, Shams Mulani, Nehal Wadhera, Raghav Goyal
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Faf Du Plessis, Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, Mohammad Siraj, Harshal Patel, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dinesh Karthik, Shahbaz Ahemad, Rajat Patidar, Anuj Rawat, Akash Deep, Josh Hazlewood, Mahipal Lomror, Finn Allen, Suyash Prabhudessai, Karn Sharma, Siddharth Kaul, David Willey, Reece Topley, Himanshu Sharma, Manoj Bhandage, Rajan Kumar, Avinash Singh, Sonu Yadav, Micheal Bracewell
Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma (c), Ishan Kishan (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Tim David, Cameron Green, Ramandeep Singh, Jofra Archer, Hrithik Shokeen, Sandeep Warrier, Jason Behrendorff
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Faf du Plessis (capt), Virat Kohli, Mahipal Lomror, Glenn Maxwell, Michael Bracewell, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Shahbaz Ahmed, Suyash Prabudessai, Harshal Patel, Akash Deep, Reece Topley
Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Faf du Plessis wins toss, opts to bowl first against Mumbai Indians.
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis(c), Glenn Maxwell, Michael Bracewell, Shahbaz Ahmed, Dinesh Karthik(w), Karn Sharma, Harshal Patel, Akash Deep, Reece Topley, Mohammed Siraj
Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma(c), Ishan Kishan(w), Suryakumar Yadav, Cameron Green, Tilak Varma, Tim David, Nehal Wadhera, Hrithik Shokeen, Piyush Chawla, Jofra Archer, Arshad Khan
Follow the live updates below.
11:02 PM: RCB win by 8 wickets!
Arshad bowls a short ball and Kohli drags it behind square for a beautiful four. He then finishes the chase in style. In the slot and Kohli smokes the ball over long-on for a massive six. That's it, folks! RCB win by eight wickets.
10:50 PM: 161/2 after 16 overs
Green offers length and Karthik miscues a hit down the ground, falling short of mid-off. That's a wicket! Karthik attemps to flick the ball straight to deep square-leg and gets trapped. Glenn Maxwell walks in at 4.
10:45 PM: 153/1 after 14 overs
Young Arshad strikes! And strikes at the right time. Tim David takes a comfortable catch at long-on as Faf du Plessis departs for 73 off 43 balls. The slower length ball deceived the opener who mistimed his slog and didn't get the desired elevation. Despite hitting 6 sixes and 5 fours, du Plessis couldn't take his team over the finish line. A very outside chance for MI to bounce back. RCB needs 33 runs off 36 balls.
10:30 PM: 115/0 after 12 overs
Du Plessis hits back-to-back sixes against Hritik Shokeen to bring up his fifty. RCB has put the chase in cruise control mood and Kohli is also coming to his own now. Rohit Sharma is compelled to reintroduce Jofra Archer into the attack, yet the dominance of the openers persist. Kohli, in particular, continues his masterclass and completes a half-century in just 38 deliveries, as RCB steadily climb to 113/0 after 12 overs.
10:20 PM: 83/0 after 9 overs
Faf du Plessis is on a roll, hit 44 runs in just 26 balls, decorating the knock with four boundaries and three sixes. While Kohli continues to play at a strike rate of 134. Mumbai Indians need quick wickets to get back in the game.
10:00 PM: 75/0 after 8 overs
Jofra Archer takes charge of the attack for Mumbai, while Kohli greets him with a four and follows it up with a powerful six over the long-on.
9:45 PM: 46/0 after 4 overs
Captain Du Plessis is on a roll tonight with two sixes and a boundary against Jason Behrendorff in the third over of the powerplay. Virat is still playing the anchor role but these two batsmen will want to make the most of field restrictions.
9:25 PM: 171/7 after 20 overs
A length ball from Harshal again and new batter Arshad whacks it over long-on for a beautiful six. Tilak gets another boundary as he guides the ball through mid-wicket. A no-ball follows next and Arshad gets a single off the free hit.
9:15 PM: 133/7 after 18 overs
That's a length ball from Harshal as clueless Shokeen tries to pull it over the in-field as Faf dives to his left to complete a superb catch. Arshad Khan walks in at 9. He is off the mark with a single on debut. Some excellent running between the stumps hand Mumbai much-needed runs for a fighting total.
8:50 PM: 105.6 in 15.3 overs
Tim David clean-bowled by fiery Karn Sharma. What a ball! David goes for a wild sweep and falters. Tilak is the only highest-scorer for Mumbai today.
8:35 PM: 86/4 in 13.1 overs
Tilak, who is batting on 43 off 26 balls, seems to be the only glimmer of hope for Mumbai as of now. Nehal Wadhera, who was yet to get comfortable in the middle, is dismissed by Karn Sharma. RCB is all over MI tonight.
8:26 PM: 72/4 after 11 overs
Mumbai are in a desperate need for a partnership to get back into the contest with Tilak Varma and Nehal Wadhera in the middle. Tim David is still waiting to come in but he needs a good setup before that.
8:13 PM: 48/4 in 8.5 overs
Suryakumar Yadav gets clean-bowled by Michael Bracewell. What a catch, Yadav is trapped by the RCB spinner. Timeout called by the umpire, MI in all sorts of trouble at the moment.
8:10 PM: 29/3 after 6 overs
Out! Captain Rohit Sharma is caught behind by Dinesh Karthik bowled by Akash Deep. RCB off to a dream start in their opener of the IPL 2023. Mumbai Indians in a tricky spot now, they have lost Kishan, Green and Rohit cheaply.
7:55 PM: 19/2 after 5 overs
Siraj begins the last Powerplay over with a wide. Rohit is struggling with variations ployed by Siraj. Catch it is the call. Up in the air and oh no, dropped! Rohit gets a big reprieve as Dinesh Karthik and Siraj collide to drop a dolly.
7:50 PM: 17/2 after 4 overs
Topley bowls a low full-toss and it scrapes the toe of the blade and hits the stumps. Cameron Green departs! Mumbai top-order is in a mess tonight. Suryakumar Yadav walks in at 4.
7:40 PM: 12/1 after 3 overs
Siraj shapes the ball onto Kishan's pads, who looks on cluelessly. Then the next ball. That's a wicket! In the air and taken at third! Cameron Green walks in at 3. He is off the mark with a quick single to mid-off. Siraj attacks the stumps and Rohit blocks it out.
7:30 PM: Match begins!
Mumbai Indians off to a fine start with Ishan Kishan and Rohit Sharma. Reece Topley gets smashed for a couple of boundaries in the second over of RCB.