In a thrilling encounter at their home ground in Mumbai, Mumbai Indians emerged victorious over Royal Challengers Bengaluru by a comfortable seven-wicket margin, thanks to a stellar bowling performance led by Jasprit Bumrah.
Bumrah’s exceptional display saw him claim a five-wicket haul, dismantling RCB’s batting lineup and restricting them to a total of 196-8. His remarkable figures of 5 for 21 earned him the player-of-the-match award.
After winning the toss, Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya opted to field first, a decision that proved to be a wise one. Bumrah’s brilliance with the ball set the tone for the match, as he dismissed key RCB batsmen including Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, and Dinesh Karthik.
In response, Mumbai Indians’ batting duo of Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav played crucial roles in guiding their team to victory. Kishan scored a quickfire 54 off 32 deliveries, while Yadav anchored the innings with a composed 68 off 42 balls.
Hardik Pandya praised his team’s performance, particularly highlighting Bumrah’s bowling and the contributions of Kishan and Yadav. He also acknowledged the impact of the new “impact player” rule, which allowed him to field an extra bowler.
“Always good to win. The way we have won – it’s quite impressive. Impact player has given the opportunity to use an extra bowler if required. It gives me a cushion as well. The way Ro and Kishan batted, giving the platform, it was important for us to finish it early. We didn’t speak about it. That’s the beauty of this team, players know what to do,” Pandya said.
Pandya also lauded Bumrah for his superb bowling display and Surya for his breathtaking shots.
“Blessed to have Bumrah in my side. He does it over and over again. He practices a lot. The amount of experience and confidence he has is tremendous. (Surya) I did tell him when he scored the fifty that welcome back. I’ve been the opposition captain as well against him, it’s tough to put a field for him. Whatever the situation requires – last game I had to take some time, and this game’s scenario was different,” Pandya added.
