RCB eliminate MI and go top after last-ball thriller

In Raipur's first IPL game this season, two prominent teams played a game with a lot of twists and turns that ended in a last-ball thriller. One team rose to the top of the table, and the other's hopes of qualifying for the playoffs were dashed. Bhuvneshwar Kumar kept Mumbai Indians at 166/7 with four wickets, and Krunal Pandya's 73 off 46 balls set the stage for RCB's chase. It took the No. 9 and No. 10 batters, despite Mumbai Indians' string of errors and two stellar performances, to get them over the line with the game's final pitch. Krunal Pandya made a 46-ball 73 on a difficult surface to ensure that RCB never lost the game, despite Bhuvneshwar Kumar's Powerplay spell, four-wicket return, and six in the final over. Bhuvneshwar Kumar played yet another deadly spell with the new ball, proving that RCB's decision to bowl was right from the start. His tight lines and assistance from the cracks on the surface ensured three of MI's batters were back in the dugout within three overs of the innings. The lofted drive attempt made by Ryan Rickelton was successful. Rohit Sharma, who had bowled Josh Hazlewood out for 18 runs, was fooled by a knuckleball and hit the goalkeeper with one. Suryakumar Yadav's poor run continued as he was caught for a first-ball duck after gaining an edge on an away seaming delivery. Tilak Varma, who was batting on number 9, was run out by a slower ball from Rasikh Salam in the final Powerplay over. He top-edged a pull to Suyash Sharma at midwicket, but the fielder dropped a sitter. Romario Shepherd overran a few balls earlier in the same over while attempting to stop a shot. He gave up four easy runs to Tilak. After that, Tilak hit a 42-ball 57 to help MI reach a respectable total on a difficult surface. The in-form Naman Dhir provided adequate support from the other end. Having scored only 53 runs in the Powerplay, MI were in need of an acceleration. But going for big hits wasn't the easiest option because some balls shot up and others stayed low. Dhir and Tilak played prudently, chose their attacking shots wisely, and ensured that they scored 49 runs in the six overs that followed. Dhir became more skilled at picking up his scoring areas as their time in the middle wore on, and he scored two goals against Rasikh in a row to raise the ante. However, he was unsuccessful in picking up a cross-seam delivery, which stayed low and knocked over his stumps while he attempted to drive a third boundary in a row. Even though Raj Bawa and Will Jacks each scored a boundary, Tilak was largely responsible for scoring as he reached his 50th century. MI's boundaries were frozen when Bhuvneshwar returned to the attack for his final over and struck Tilak. Bawa, Deepak Chahar, and Corbin Bosch were unable to make any significant contributions as Hazlewood and Rasikh ended the innings with two quiet overs. Even though they scored three boundaries in the first over, Virat Kohli's dismissal from a delivery that held up a little showed that it won't be easy to score runs. Devdutt Padikkal was taken out by a shot from Deepak Chahar that was impossible to play, and by the time the Powerplay was over, Rajat Patidar was also taken out by a shot from Chahar that bounced more than expected and caught the top edge of his tentative shot. Krunal Pandya and Jacob Bethell, on the other hand, put together a stand of 55 runs in 42 balls to give MI the spine it needed. They measured their attack very carefully on a difficult surface, most importantly by targeting AM Ghazanfar, who scored 21 runs in two overs. On a surface where pacers were proving more effective, MI made a tricky call of bringing in Raghu Sharma instead of an additional pacer like Shardul Thakur, who was also available as an option. While the spinner went unused, the responsibility was handed over to Bawa to create an impact with his medium pace. Furthermore, the strategy failed. He was bowled out for 16 runs, leaving RCB needing only 57 runs from the final six overs—three of which needed to be bowled by the spinners or Bawa—to complete the innings. With 30 needed off 16 balls, and MI forced to bring another over of spin, Krunal had the license to attempt the big swings. He slogged a delivery from Ghazanfar, but mistimed it. Dhir and Tilak converged for the catch, with the former pulling it back for a relay catch. Tilak, however, wasn't ready to grab it. Before the ball was returned to the goalkeeper, the two got into a fight. However, with Krunal struggling with cramps, the two never attempted a run, while there was a heated argument between the RCB think-tank, Virat Kohli and the umpires beyond the ropes over whether Dhir had touched the ropes or not before releasing the ball. The decision to hand the ball to Bawa to bowl the final over to defend 15 runs proved costly, despite Jasprit Bumrah's excellent 19th over. He erred in his lines numerous times and even overstepped once when asked to keep the ball on the wide yorker line from around the wicket. However, with RCB needing nine out of three balls and the ninth and tenth batters in the middle, he seemed to have Romario Shepherd struck out off the third legitimate ball of the over. However, Bhuvneshwar carved the ball over deep extra cover for a six with one more magical hand. Rasikh returned a ball to the bowler when he needed two off the final ball, but the ball was deflected in the middle of the field, and the batters raced for the second run. The Mumbai Indians have lost all hope of making the playoffs after dropping their eighth game in a row. Meanwhile, RCB have moved to the top spot on the table with their seventh win in 11 games. Mumbai Indians will fly to Dharamsala on Thursday (May 14) to face Punjab Kings, while RCB will remain in Raipur to face Kolkata Knight Riders on Wednesday (May 13).