For starters, RCB had a wonderful bowling combination. Navdeep Saini led the attack for them and Dale Steyn was dropped for the match. Steyn would have got relieved of the pressure to lead the bowling attack, especially when he is out of form. Adam Zampa was brought into the playing eleven and Udana was trusted by captain Kohli. Josh Philippe was dropped and ABD took the role of gloveman.
ABD for RCB is like Rahul Dravid for Team India!
Mumbai Indians preferred to chase with an intention to keep RCB's score below par . Devdutt Padikkal's role has been clearly assigned by Kohli. When he walks into bat, his role is not only to go for his shots, but to hold one end too, as the next 3 batsmen are Finch, Kohli and ABD. The left right combination is the most irritating aspect for a bowler, who tries to be economical. Padikkal showed lot of maturity in his innings and was instrumental for RCB posting 200 plus.
Aaron Finch played audacious shots to register a fifty and ABD finished it off as usual. Kohli definitely looked out of touch, but is warming up for future games. Shivam Dube fitted well along with ABD to score at a strike rate of 270, with 3 sixers. ABD himself was striking at a rate of 230. Trent Boult and Rahul Chahar were the pick of the bowlers for Mumbai Indians.
Mumbai Indians chase was a story of Ishan Kishan and Kieron Pollard making a match out of the top order collapse. Pawan Negi had a great day in the field with 3 catches, but he dropped the crucial one when needed the most, which kept the match interesting. Ishan Kishan grabbed the opportunity with both hands, scoring a stupendous 99, with amazing six hitting abilities.
RCB tried to lose the match with their fielding effort and bowling loose balls, all resultant of pressure that they always get themselves into. The bowling change by Kohli was actually good, but too many matches has been lost, which puts him under scanner each time he backs his bowler under different circumstances. The pressure to win was evident in the team.
Thanks to the prayers of RCB fans, Ishan Kishan did not finish the match for Mumbai Indians and missed a hundred too. A tie was not expected and a super over win for RCB was a surprise, after Mumbai Indians' finishers were in the perfect mood for the same.
Navdeep Saini and Bumrah bowled excellent super overs for their franchises and created a memorable IPL match for the fans. Ishan Kishan was tired after the innings and Rohit Sharma preferred fresh legs for the super over and relied on Hardik Pandya. The strategy backfired as Saini bowled brilliantly to keep the chase to 8 runs in one over. Kohli lead from the front with his batting, when he finished off the run chase with a whipping flick off a low full toss. Chasing runs brings the best out of Kohli and he forgot about his poor form and was there in the end to earn 2 crucial points for the team.
