The Wankhede Fortress Conquered
In a night match at the Wankhede Stadium, the toss is often the deciding factor due to the flat pitch and heavy dew. Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) found themselves on the wrong side of the toss, but they didn’t let that deter them. Instead, they did exactly what was necessary: they set a towering target by scoring the highest IPL total ever recorded at the ground, finishing at 240 for 4.
Explosive Starts and Record-Breaking Totals
The foundation of this massive total was laid by Phil Salt and Rajat Patidar. Salt was in a destructive mood, smashing 78 off just 36 balls, while Patidar played a blistering innings of 53 off 20. Patidar’s fifty was his fastest ever, and the duo together dominated the Mumbai Indians’ bowling attack. Both batsmen hit a hat-trick of sixes, and Salt added three consecutive fours to his tally. With a combined 11 sixes and 10 fours, they turned the MI home ground into an RCB celebration.
Even Virat Kohli, who scored a composed 50 off 38 balls, seemed slightly dissatisfied with his own strike rate given the sheer volume of runs flowing from the other end. However, his stability provided the perfect platform for the power-hitters to accelerate.
The Assault on MI’s Bowling
The powerplay was a masterclass in aggression. After Kohli registered the first boundary with a six, Phil Salt took complete control, scoring 47 off 22 balls in the first six overs. He particularly targeted Mitchell Santner, hitting him for three sixes and a four. The pressure was so immense that MI were forced to bring in Jasprit Bumrah early, using him for two overs within the powerplay, yet RCB still managed to reach 71.
The middle overs saw Mayank Markande struggle to find turn on a flat surface. Salt continued his assault, hitting three consecutive fours off flatter lengths before launching a six the moment Markande gave the ball any air. It wasn’t until the 11th over, when Shardul Thakur executed wide yorkers, that Salt was finally dismissed, caught at extra cover.
Patidar’s Clinical Finish
When Rajat Patidar arrived, MI hoped for a momentum shift, but Patidar immediately asserted his dominance. He began with a chipped four and then dismantled Mayank Markande, hitting three back-to-back sixes, including a daring reverse-sweep six.
The pressure mounted on Shardul Thakur, whose wide yorkers failed and whose slower balls sailed over the boundary. A ten-ball over from Thakur went for 23 runs, pushing RCB to 167 for 1 by the 13th over. While Kohli struggled to find the same boundary flow in the later stages and was eventually dismissed by Santner, Tim David’s quick 34 off 16 balls ensured RCB maintained a scoring rate of two runs per ball, ending at a formidable 240.
Krunal and Suyash Shut Down the Chase
Mumbai Indians’ chase began with fireworks. Ryan Rickelton provided a flying start, propelling MI to 39/0 in three overs and 48/0 in four. It looked as though the chase was well on track, but the introduction of Krunal Pandya and Suyash Sharma shifted the momentum.
Krunal’s disciplined bowling raised the asking rate, while impact player Rasikh Dar kept things tight with only 15 runs conceded in his powerplay overs. The game took a turn when Rohit Sharma exited the match with a suspected hamstring injury, leaving MI vulnerable.
Suyash Sharma provided the crucial breakthrough, dismissing both Ryan Rickelton and Tilak Varma in his very first over. This double-strike extinguished MI’s momentum. Hardik Pandya attempted to keep the chase alive with a six on his first ball, but the pressure of the mounting asking rate began to tell.
The Finishing Touches
Krunal Pandya played a key role in the match-up against his brother, Hardik, restricting him to 32 off 35 balls. Krunal also deceived Suryakumar Yadav with a slowed-down delivery, resulting in a catch at long leg. With Suryakumar’s exit, MI needed 120 runs off 46 balls, making the target virtually unreachable.
Although Sherfane Rutherford managed a fighting 71 off 31 balls, his efforts served more to protect MI’s net run rate than to win the match. RCB’s spinners, who bowled eight overs for 73 runs and took three key wickets, proved far superior to MI’s spinners, who conceded 83 runs in just six overs. RCB won the match by 18 runs, proving that they can defend a record-breaking total on a flat Wankhede deck.
