IPL 2023 Highlights Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Mumbai Indians: Royal Challengers Bangalore bowler Mohammed Siraj with teammates celebrates the wicket of Mumbai Indians batter Ishan Kishan during the IPL 2023 cricket match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, in Bengaluru, Sunday, April 2, 2023. (PTI)IPL 2023 Highlights RCB vs MI: Virat Kohli and skipper Faf du Plesiss struck attacking half-centuries to guide Royal Challengers Bangalore to an eight-wicket win over five-time champions Mumbai Indians in an IPL match here on Sunday. While Kohli remained unbeaten on 82 off 49 balls, du Plessis made 73 off 43 balls to set the platform for the chase which RCB achieved in 16.2 overs.
Earlier, Mumbai Indians rode on Tilak Varma’s stroke-filled unbeaten half-century to post a competitive 171 for seven against Royal Challengers Bangalore. Varma scored unbeaten 84 off 46 balls and decorated his knock with nine boundaries and four sixes to help MI post the total after being sent into bat.
Varma was the lone bright spot in MI’s batting department on Sunday. For RCB, spinner Karn Sharma picked up two wickets, giving away 32 runs from his four overs.
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Faf du Plessis: Nice to start the way we did. In the powerplay, Siraj had the tail up and he set the tone. Right through the innings, our bowlers stuck to the plans. Obviously last 2-3 overs something to improve on. And that second innings, if you want to know how to chase a target, well, that's how you do it. If you took pace off the ball, it wasn't too easy to play and there was something in it for the spinners but as a batter if you got into good positions you could score runs. My first time playing here as a home player and it's a special player, especially batting with Virat Kohli. Energy bounces off him. You have to stay with the youngsters, I still work hard to be able to move around like I could in the young days. The confidence this gives, all of us are confidence players. This start will be huge for us as a team.
Virat Kohli: I thought it was a phenomenal win, a homecoming after 4 years. Couldn't have asked for a better game. We bowled well for the first 17 overs but then credit to their batters especially Tilak who batted really well. It was a very comprehensive win and we wanted to win with balls to spare as it will benefit the NRR. The new ball was tricky, that's where we shifted the momentum, they can ride on that momentum from the last two overs of their batting but the way we started nullified all that momentum. We kept the pressure on the bowlers. Phenomenal, it was a packed crowd, every seat was full when we walked in here. Very important we started off well, their support propelled us and that makes a massive difference. I think he was phenomenal, phenomenal spell from him, that's brave bowling after getting the left-hander out [on Karn Sharma]. He was bowling so well for us last year but he couldn't play. Even in the nets he was not getting hit for sixes, hats off to him for coming and playing after so long, to perform against such a strong MI side at the Chinnaswamy is great for him. I wanted to mention this for a while - after MI who have 5 titles and CSK who have 4, if I'm not wrong, we are the third team to have qualified the most times to the playoffs - 8 times. Take one game at a time and try to be a balanced side which we are and we would look to execute our plans as we did tonight.
Rohit Sharma: Didn’t have a great start with the bat in the first six overs. But, it was a really good effort from Tilak and a few other batters. But, we didn’t execute well with the ball. It was a good pitch to bat on. (On Tilak Verma) He is a positive person, quite talented as well. Some of the shots he played, showed a lot of courage. Hats off to Tilak to get us to a competitive total. It was a good pitch to bat on. We didn’t set any target but we didn't even bat to half of our potential and we got to 170. Probably 30-40 runs more would have been ideal. From the last six to eight months I am used to playing without Jasprit Bumrah. Of course this is a different setup but someone needs to put their hand up and step up. We can't keep dwelling on it. Injuries are not in our control, we can't do much about it. The other guys in the setup are quite talented as well. We need to give them that support. Just the first game of the season, there's a lot to look forward to.
Sriram Veera: A clear sign that Virat Kohli has had a satisfying day as a batsman is when he starts to enjoy his partner’s shots, laughing and showing his incredulity. When Glenn Maxwell got off the mark with an outrageous flat-batted six over cover and a top-edged whack over fine leg, no one was more happy than Kohli. He doubled over his bat for the first shot, holding his tummy in his characteristically exaggerated reaction. And hugged Maxwell for the second hit. And then, Kohli finished off the game with a thunderous wallop over the straight boundary, hugged Rohit Sharma, before walking off laughing with Maxwell.
12 years since Virat Kohli saw his first World Cup with India being wrapped up with a six over long on. From one MS Dhoni. Here, he paid the date, the man a little tribute of his own with that damn hit over long on for a match finishing six. Good omen and all for RCB in IPL 2023? Time will tell.
Arshad Khan continues. Virat Kohli whips him through deep square leg for four and then nails on over long on for six. As simple as that. RCB win by eight wickets. A comprehensive win to start their campaign, in front of their home fans!
Dinesh Karthik is caught at deep square leg by Tilak Verma. Cameron Green gets the wicket. Went for the flick but went straight into the fielder's grasp.
Before RCB fans go into second thoughts, Glenn Maxwell smacks his fellow Aussie for back to back sixes, either side of the square. 161/2 after 16 overs.
Wicket at last for Mumbai. Arshad Khan bags Faf du Plessis (73 off 43). Tried to slog over long on but only finds the fielder. A little too later for a twist in the tale now. RCB, 148/1 after 15 overs.
Not the MI debur Jofra Archer would've wanted. Virat Kohli has read him right through. The surface has barely offered anything. An effortless pull from the former RCB skipper over deep square leg for six. 10 off the latest over. Archer finishes with figures of 0/33. RCB, 139/0 after 14 overs.
"Into the night sky," reads the huge board at the Chinnaswamy as Faf du Plessis nails a pull off a slower bouncer over deep mid-wicket. Just a couple deliveries ago, Behrendorff had been pulled by Kohli through cow corner for four. A delivery later, he is picked behind the wicket by the RCB captain for another. 16 off the over. 129/0 after 13 overs.
A 50th IPL fifty for Virat Kohli! What a legend!
Starts off the season on a high note and opposition beware what his former India coach had to say. "He's the sort of player who doesn't stop if he gets off to a good start."
Jofra Archer was brought in by Rohit Sharma to bring a possible wicket. Both the openers have played him with relative caution off this over. Five off it. 113/0 after 12 overs.
100 partnership up between Kohli and du Plessis. The latter brings it with a mammoth six over long on. Giant stride forward and a whack that reverberated around Chinnaswamy. 11 runs come off Piyush Chawla's last over. RCB, 108/0 after 11 overs.
26th IPL fifty for Faf du Plessis. A third against Mumbai Indians. Brings it with a maximum over deep mid-wicket. A slog sweep. Follows it with another six over long on. RCB are running away with this. 17 off the over, 97/0 at the halfway stage.
Tossed up and full from Chawla and Kohli forward drives him down the ground for four. The former RCB and India captain seems in his usual groove tonight! An lbw appeal with Faf du Plessis in question. Looks to have impacted outside leg with the angle taking it farther down the third stump. The umpire says no. And so does Rohit, for the review. Five off the over. 80/0 after nine overs.
The Australian all-rounder is handed the ball and du Plessis keeps the run rate going. Smothers him between cover and mid off for four. Slashes over cover for another. And then scoops one over long leg for six to wrap the over. 17 off the over. 75/0 after eight overs.
Piyush Chawla on for a second over. With the pacers leaking early boundaries, the off spinner has contained the two openers so far. No big shots off his first two. Five singles off this one. But Bangalore seem to have covered for Mumbai's late homework early in their chase. 58/0 after seven overs.
A huge contrast in the two powerplays tonight. Mumbai were 29/3 at the end of their first six overs, which is tough to digest after glancing at their 20-over score. For RCB though, the start has been superb. 53/0 off the first 36 deliveries. Kohli gets another boundary off Archer. Another back of a length delivery. Front foot pulled for four.
It's IPL 2023 and we've been graced with one of the league's firsts. Piyush Chawla introduced in the powerplay. du Plessis cuts him to garner a boundary in the gap at extra cover. Another singled managed off the over. 45/0 after five overs.
Right then! Good contest this. Jofra Archer against Virat Kohli. First ball and the latter comes down at the quick. Almost a caught and bowled. Archer stays down for a couple of seconds. The raised eyebrows in the MI camp can rest. No injury whatsoever. Kohli takes him on though. A back of a length delivery up next is guided between backward point and short third man for four. A bludgeon of a shot off the fifth delivery down the long off for six and the Chinnaswamy pops. 40/0 after four overs.
Captain Faf du Plessis takes off. A four and two maximums in the third over. A cover drive, a flick over deep mid wicket and a whack over long off. 16 off that over. 30/0 after three overs.
Right then, 172 is the target. On a good surface. Composed start from RCB.
Virat Kohli gets the first four of RCB's innings. In the second over. Flicked wide of short fine leg. Another over with three consecutive wide deliveries this game. Nine off the second over. 14/0 after two overs.
All of a sudden, Mumbai are in the ascendancy. And just like the past 15 seasons of turnarounds at this venue, no one except RCB themselves are to be blamed. Arshad Khan flattens Harshal Patel with a searing six over deep mid wicket. Tilak Verma pulls a short one in front of square on the leg for four. There's a no-ball in there as well. Tilak Verma helicopters one over long on for a six to finishat 84 off 46 deliveries. Mumbai finish at 171/7. WOW!
Siraj had given only five off his first three overs. He's already conceded five off one legal delivery in his last over. Four wides in a row. Coming over the wicket, trying to scramble it away from Tilak Verma but unable to keep it in line. Faf du Plessis with a wry smile after that fourth one. Finally delivers a legal delivery, heaved wide off long on for a couple. Followed by a lovely loft over mid off four four. Wide again. Another whack and a boundary down deep square leg. 16 runs off the over. 149/7 after 19 overs.
Faf du Plessis with a screamer at mid off!
The RCB captain jumped back to take it over his shoulders. Hrithik Shokeen departs. Harshal Patel bags the wicket and Mumbai look down and out. Tilak Verma has been the sole ray of hope. Gets a boundary off the last ball. 133/7 with 12 deliveries left in the innings.
The southpaw measures the deep square leg boundary off Akash Deep's first ball. A fifty off 32 deliveries. What a crucial knock this has been against the constant fall of wickets. A wide called out by the first umpire is reviewed on DK's behest and the latter is proven right. A dot it is. A hook shot off a bouncer follows. Four down long leg. 12 runs off the 17th over, 123/6.
Tim David in the middle. Death overs. A dangerous prospect. One that has been removed by Karn Sharma early as he cleans up the Australia international in the 16th over. Going for a low pull, completely misreads the trajectory and gets himself cleaned.
Hrithik Shokeen, the new batter in. Gets offered width down the leg side and places it behind for a boundary down long leg. Karn Sharma finishes with figures of 2/32. MI, 111/6 after 16 overs.
Tushar Bhaduri: The words ‘Rohit Sharma’ and ‘workload management’ have been used so much in the same sentence in recent times that one wondered whether the Mumbai Indians skipper will be there to lead his side in their season opener. And during a torrid time in the middle against Royal Challengers Bangalore, it seemed his mind was elsewhere. A score of 1 off 10 balls at the top of the innings reads bad enough, but he wouldn’t have lasted that long if a routine top edge had been pouched.
Rohit looked rusty and distracted during the short yet painful innings, not finding the gaps and even moving away from the stumps with the bowler in his delivery stride, and it almost felt like relief when a flat-footed waft produced a thin edge to Dinesh Karthik behind the stumps – a thoroughly forgettable outing with the bat.
The MI skipper had said he will sit out a few games during the IPL to rest and manage his workload looking at the hectic international schedule including the World Test Championship final and the 50-over World Cup in India later this year, with Suryakumar Yadav to lead in his absence. Rohit may have wished he had done it in the first game itself.
Harshal Patel returns for his second over and delivers an economical over. 100 up for Mumbai. But just the three runs off the 15th over. Varies his length and pace well to keep the newly in Tim David and fifty-approaching Tilak Verma at bay. 102/5 after 15 overs. Time for another strategic timeout.
Karn Sharma gets mauled over deep mid-wicket and long on for back to back sixes from Nehal Wadhera. Brings up 50-run stand with Tilak Verma. Goes for another, but is unable to find the sweet spot of the bat and hands a fairly regulation catch to long on. Mumbai five down for 99 after 14 overs.
Pace services resumed from the other end. Akash Deep into his second over. Tilak Verma scoops him down third man for four. Seven off the over. MI are 85/4 after 13 overs.
Glenn Maxwell replaces Karn Sharma, and gets struck for back to back boundaries. Tosses one up, gets lofted over long on for six. Keeps the other back of a length, is pulled hard for four. 10 off the first two deliveries. Four off the next four. Overall, a good over for MI. The men in blue will need Verma to go all the way if they need to score a par total on this surfae. 78/4 after 12 overs.
Sandip G: A four off Michael Bracewell seemed to ease Suryakumar Yadav’s recent woes. His last five international outings read 0,0,0, 8, and 24. The form hung heavily on his mind, as he scratched and scraped around until he bludgeoned the off-spinner from New Zealand. It was not the prettiest of his strokes, more brute force than sumptuous timing. But it would not have mattered, because Yadav needed runs, and it could have been that one shot batsmen often romanticise that changed their career around. The next ball was short and wide, and in better touch, he would have glided it behind point. But here he was all power and went hard at the ball, more of a wild slash than delicate cut. He sweet-spotted, but Shahbaz Ahmed’s fast hands gobbled up the airborne shot. A distraught Yadav stared pensively at his bat. Where has his touch of Midas vanished?
Tilak Verma starts off Bracewell's second over with a reverse sweep over backward point for four. The offie cramps the southpaws from around the wicket for room, conceding only three more for the remainder of the over. 62/4 after 11 overs clearly isn't where MI would've wanted to be at this stage, given the quickness of the outfield. RCB have done really well to contain the opposition.
Karn Sharma continues. Nehal Wadhera on strike, misses one and it goes crashing onto his pads. Appeal follows. DK from behind the stumps has a chat with the bowler. Faf on the boundary entrusts the group and goes for a review. Sadly though, despite not bat involved, the ball has pitched outside leg stump and a review goes wasted. Just the three runs off that over. MI are 55/4 at the halfway stage.
Nehal Wadhera, the new batter in. On his MI debut. Places a slower one from Bracewell outside the off stump beyond the slip fielder for a four down third man. 52/4 after nine overs.
Sandip G: An exuberant bowler and an energetic keeper is a recipe for impulsive referrals as well as potential collisions. So when Rohit Sharma top-edged a pull off Mohammed Siraj, the bowler teed off like an uncoiled spring. Then so did Dinesh Karthik with big flashing gloves. Both converged at pace, eyes on the ball, utterly unaware of each other’s presence and collided. Fortunately, both escaped uninjured, as replays later showed that the contact was between the shoulders and not a clash of heads, or the head crashing onto the nose (Steve Waugh and Jason Gillespie in Colombo) or teeth meeting cheek (Moises Henriques and Rory Burns in a county game, after which the match was abandoned). After both Siraj and Karthik dragged back to their feet, Karthik seemed to gesture that he had called for the catch. Siraj replied that he didn’t hear any. Perhaps, his cry for catch was lost in the deafening noise in the crowd. Anyway, it did not turn out to be costly. For referring how to avoid an onrushing fielder watch a pearler off Mohammed Kaif, escaping an onrushing Hemang Badani, in the dying stages of a thriller in Karachi 2004.
More spin from the other end as Michael Bracewell is handed the ball. Tossed up and Suryakumar Yadav lofts it over extra cover for four. Picthed up again and this time, SKY slices it straight to the fielder at point. Shahbaz Ahmed completes the catch. Mumbai, 48/4. Umpire signals for a strategic timeout.
Sriram Veera: It didn’t take long for Virat Kohli cam to be on. When Dinesh Karthik and the bowler Mohammad Siraj collided to drop Rohit Sharma, Kohli had the most animated reaction: a scream of agony with his hands flailing in frustration. Next over, when Akash Deep induced Rohit to nick to Dinesh Karthik, Kohli ran a celebratory run towards Karthik, who was pretty controlled and quiet, and lifted him as well. Watching this, with a smile even as he ran in, was Faf du Plessis.
Spin introduced by RCB. Karn Sharma replaces Akash Deep. The run rate is a sad state of affairs for MI right now. Something they wouldn't have expected off a wicket known as a batting paradise. Six off the latest over, 43/3.
Reece Topley with a dive behind at short fine leg, gets stuck in the surface and looks to have injured his right shoulder and is being taken off to receive further treatment.
In a stale season last year, Tilak Verma was one of the positives for a new look Mumbai Indians. The southpaw played all the games in 2022 and has looked supremely confident in the first game this year. Harshal Patel replaces Mohammed Siraj. Bangs one in back of a length and is pulled behind the square on the on side for four. Much needed boundary for MI, much needed for Suryakumar Yadav in the other hand. He may use a helping hand to come out of the recent drought. 37/3 after seven overs.
WOAH! That came outta nowhere. Against the run of the play. Three wickets down in the powerplay and having only played a delivery in the middle, Tilak Verma steps out and mauls Akash Deep over long on for six. 10 come off the over. Mumbai finish the powerplay at 29/2.
That lifeline didn't result in much then. Akash Deep into the attack for the final over ahead of the powerplay. Over the wicket to the MI captain and gets the ball to move late and Rohit edges it behind for Karthik to complete the grab this time. Never really looked settled. Goes for 1 off 10 deliveries. MI, 20/3.
Sandip G: Before joy, there was agony for Mohammed Siraj. The first ball of the second over blasted onto Ishan Kishan’s pads. The ball had landed just outside the leg-stump, before it seamed into Kishan. but that did not deter Siraj from belting out so loud an appeal that it could have been heard from the Brigade Road. Siraj is the pace-bowling equivalent of Nathan Lyon, who possesses the most theatrical and energetic appeal in cricket. RCB skipper Faf du Plessis immediately turned down Siraj’s request for a referral, the bowler reluctantly buying his captain’s logic. The second ball a fraction shorter but of a similar line cut Kishan into half and had him hopping. Kishan had enough, the next ball, he swiped across the line and outside-edged to third-man. So short was the boundary that a bit more wood would have seen the ball over the ropes. But that was not to be, and Siraj was ecstatic, ripping out a roar louder than his appeal and clenching his fists. There was little anger, but pure joy. And for his appeals and celebrations alone, Siraj is worth watching.
Rohit Sharma had been raring to go this over. Mohammed Siraj had him cramped for room, angling the deliveries in towards him. After three dot balls in a row, he goes for it. A miscued hook. Both Siraj and Karthik from behind the stumps go for the catch and in the end, collide to each other. The MI captain survives. A bit of an injury scare from Siraj but after a brief look from the physio, he is good to go. Another fine over from him. Only two off it. 19/2 after five overs.
Reece Topley bags the big fish. Cameron Green, in his debut, had pounced onto him off the first ball to get a boundary. A delivery later, he has the Aussie bamboozled and cleaned up. MI in early trouble. Two down in the powerplay. "The line much-much better now," remarks Ravi Shastri on broadcast. Topley had given too much width to Kishan in his last over. The matchup against two right handers clearly suits him more. Mumbai, 17/2 after four overs.
Mohammed Siraj coming round the wicket to Ishan Kishan, gets the scrambled seam right and Kishan, looking to pick it over square leg, plants it straight to Harshal Patel at third man. Just the one run off Siraj's second over. Mumbai, 12/1 after three.
Reece Topley comes from the other end and straightaway looks to the heavens above after Ishan Kishan swats him through covers for four off the first ball. Lightning quick outfield on offer. The left armer, coming over the wicket to the southpaw, hasn't found any movement. A run out chance at the non-striker's end a couple of deliveries later but no one available to run Rohit Sharma out. Another swashbuckling shot, this time behind square on the off for four. Nine off the over, 11/0.
Rohit Sharma pulls one, grounded, towards deep square leg to get off the mark straight away. Ishan Kishan is tested with a hint of movement early on, but nothing to bother him much. Guides one down deep backward point to get off the mark later in the over. 2/0 after the first over.
Rohit Sharma on strike. Mohammed Siraj to start the proceedings for RCB, here we go!
It was the pre-Covid 19 pandemic era when Chinnaswamy last hosted Royal Challengers Bangalore. The packed house tonight symbolises how much this means to the Bangalore crowd. But before the loud cheer, a moment of silence around for the former India star cricketer, Salim Durani, who passed away in early hours of Sunday. Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan padded up to walk in the middle. The RCB players huddle around their captain. It's action time.
RCB: Anuj Rawat, Suyash Prabhudessai, Mahipal Lomror, Sonu Yadav, David Willey
MI: Jason Behrendorff, Vishnu Vinod, Shams Mulani, Sandeep Warrier, Ramandeep Singh
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
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
Faf du Plessis: We are going to bowl first. There's a bit of weather around. There has been a bit of dew in the practice games too. Myself, Bracewell, Maxwell, and Topley. We have been so excited to get started to tonight. This is one of the great stadiums to play cricket in. That's a long way again. The first goal is to make the playoffs. We have to make sure we get off to a good start, 14 games to go in the tournament, and then we can talk about that.
Rohit Sharma: With this new rule teams are backing themselves to chase. At the end of the day you have to play good cricket to win. We know we have to bat first here. The pitch looks good, we just have to come out with positive intent. (Four overseas players) Tim David, Cameron Green, Jofra Archer and Jason Behrendorff. Last season was a disappointment for us but again, we know exactly where we went wrong so we'll try and correct those mistakes. We've got some new faces as well so hopefully those guys play freely and express themselves. (On playing his 200th T20 game as captain) Exciting, I'm really honored and grateful as well. It's been a long journey and it's something I will cherish. Look forward to playing many more games and hopefully we can achieve what we want to achieve.
Rohit Sharma has three of those in ODIs. This one though is in IPL. 200 matches. "It's been a long journey, I look forward to play many more games," he says at the toss.
Faf du Plessis wins the toss and RCB will bowl first.
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Faf du Plessis(c), Virat Kohli, Suyash Prabhudessai, Dinesh Karthik(w), Anuj Rawat, Manoj Bhandage, Glenn Maxwell, Mahipal Lomror, Michael Bracewell, Shahbaz Ahmed, David Willey, Harshal Patel, Siddarth Kaul, Karn Sharma, Reece Topley, Mohammed Siraj, Sonu Yadav, Akash Deep, Rajan Kumar, Avinash Singh, Finn Allen, Himanshu Sharma
Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma(c), Dewald Brevis, Ramandeep Singh, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan(w), Tristan Stubbs, Tim David, Cameron Green, Shams Mulani, Piyush Chawla, Kumar Kartikeya, Hrithik Shokeen, Arjun Tendulkar, Jofra Archer, Arshad Khan, Jason Behrendorff, Sandeep Warrier, Akash Madhwal, Duan Jansen, Vishnu Vinod, Nehal Wadhera, Raghav Goyal
Impact Player rule. Workload management. Captain Hardik Pandya. In our IPL special weekly series, Rahul Pandey presents the trending talking points. Watch:
Rohit, also the India captain, has stressed on the need for national team players to look after their bodies during the two-month long league, and he himself is likely to take a break from a few games during the IPL season. “Do you want to rest? He is the captain,” MI head coach Mark Boucher said, before adding “Hopefully, he (Rohit) gets into some good form and hopefully, he doesn’t want to rest. We will adapt to whatever the situation is. If I can get the best out of him as a captain and as a player, if it means giving him some rest for that, then I’ll do that. No problem.” Read more here.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni called it a luxury to have and there can’t be a bigger endorsement of the Impact Player rule. Needless to say, I'm a big fan of it as we introduced it in the Big Bash League as “X Factor”. Although we were excited, the clubs did not embrace it as much as we would have liked and I believe much of it had to do with Australian cricket being conservative, writes Trent Woodhill. As told to Express' Venkata Krishna.