Mumbai Edge Out Bangalore for the Second Spot in the Points’ Table after Rains Forced Abandonment of RCB-DD Match and MI Steamrolled SRH

Match nos. 55 and 56 on Sunday were crucial for Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians for the second place in the Points’ Table. For yet another time, RCB suffered due to rains in Bangalore as their match against Delhi Daredevils had to be abandoned while Mumbai produced a forceful bowling performance to outclass Sunrisers at Hyderabad. DD had already gone out of the race this season but they still scored 187/5. It would be a conjecture at this stage to comment on the possibility of their victory or otherwise against Bangalore but the washed off game hurt Bangalore more. Later the same day, Mumbai’s bowlers devastated SRH, bowling them out for 113 and came back to reach the victory target of 114 for the loss of just one wicket. After a series of losses earlier on, Mumbai’s return to fray in IPL-8 has been the most impressive. But to their credit, RCB has also managed to stay in the race for the title.

It was not raining, when Delhi Daredevils began their innings at Bangalore’s M Chinnaswamy Stadium. They were asked to bat first by RCB skipper Virat Kohli, who won the toss. Quinton de Kock was the dominant opener in company with Shreyas Iyer as the South African raced away from the word go. When Harshal Patel removed Iyer in the 7th over, DD had reached 55. JP Duminy joined de Kock and the two carried on the assault on RCB bowlers to pile up another 55 before de Kock fell for a 39-ball 69 with the help of 9 fours and 3 sixes. Duminy held the other end and remained unbeaten on 67 off 43 and despite losing partners on the other end, helped DD reach 187/5.

A target of 188 for victory was possible for Bangalore but rain came in torrents and didn’t relent. The play was finally called off with RCB earning a solitary point. Their aspiration of taking the second spot in the Points’ Table depended on Mumbai’s ensuing match against SRH. In the end, however, with Mumbai turning up a solid and dominant display against Hyderabad, RCB had to settle for the third place. Now they will have to beat the Royals in the eliminator on Wednesday for the place in the final.

Later in the night, Hyderabad hosted Mumbai and David Warner chose to bat first after winning the toss. Mitchell McClenaghan and Lasith Malinga gave a great start to Mumbai by accounting for Warner and Shikhar Dhawan in the first two overs. When Moises Henriques and Eoin Morgan were also take out by the 10th over, mounting a challenging total became out of question. Later in the innings, Lokesh Rahul, Karn Sharma, Ashish Reddy and Dale Steyn made small contributions but SRH were bowled out for 113 in the 20th over. Together, McClenaghan and Malinga took 5 DD wickets and yielded just 33 runs in their 8 overs.

When Mumbai batted for the 114-run victory chase, Lendl Simmons and Parthiv Patel played aggressively but didn’t take any risks. Patel survived a stumping chance on 34 but went on to finish unbeaten on 51 off 37 balls. Simmons’ departure at 103 in the 14th over, for a well-compiled 48 off 44 balls, did nothing to stop Mumbai as Rohit Sharma struck a six on arrival and Mumbai finished victors by 9 wickets with 37 balls remaining. It was a huge comeback for a side that had lost four consecutive matches at the start of the season but ended up with 8 victories in the end.