Royal Challengers Bangalore suffered their 7th defeat at the hands of Mumbai Indians at Wankhede Stadium. MI captain Rohit Sharma asked RCB to bat after winning the toss. RCB finished at 171 for seven in 20 overs. Skipper Virat Kohli was out for 8 but AB de Villiers contributed 74 off 51 balls as RCB finished at 171 for 7 in 20 overs. England all-rounder Moeen Ali emerged the dark horse in the encounter, first hitting a 32-ball 50 and then taking 2-18 in four overs. He got rid of MI openers Rohit and Quinton de Kock. Rohit and de Kock gave MI a flying start carting around the RCB bowlers with ease and put on 70 before the former was bowled by Ali. MI needed 22 off the last two overs and Hardik Pandya smashed these runs in the19th over itself.
Super Kings tame Knight Riders
Chennai Super Kings showed how sticking to the basics can win you matches. Bowling to the field and taking the chances that came their way helped the defending champions restrict Kolkata Knight Riders to 161 for eight after skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni had won the toss and opted to field first at the Eden Gardens. Suresh Raina then showed flashes of his old form and was involved in two fruitful partnerships - with skipper Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja - to guide the visitors to a five-wicket victory. KKR suffered third defeat on the trot while CSK established themselves firmly on top of the table by recording their first win at Eden after 2013.
Sunrisers fail to rise
It was a tough call for Sunrisers Hyderabad while chasing a modest 156 for victory against Delhi Capitals at the RGIC Stadium in Hyderabad. The hosts crashed to a 39–run loss as pacers Keemo Paul (3/17), Kagiso Rabada (4/22) and Chris Morris (3/22) proved quite a handful for the SRH batsmen. At 69 for three, things were not rosy for Capitals but Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant put their heads down as they tried to give their bowlers something to bowl at.
Bangalore finally get off the mark
Skipper Virat Kohli led from the front with a crafty half century to help Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) eventually pull off an eight-wicket win after six consecutive losses and halt Kings XI Punjab’s seven-match unbeaten streak at the PCA IS Bindra Stadium. Chasing a healthy 174 mainly built around Chris Gayle’s unbeaten 64-ball 99, the stage was set for the master chaser Kohli (67 off 53 balls) to revive his team’s fortunes in this must-win contest, and the 30-year-old did it in style by forging two crucial partnerships. Opening the innings with stumper Parthiv Patel (19 off 9 balls), Kohli gave the visitors a flying start with a 63-run opening stand and then combined with South African great AB de Villiers (59 not out off 38), to add 55 runs for the second wicket and take the team to sniffing distance of their maiden win in IPL 2019.
Buttler serves it hot to MI
Batting perhaps with the intention of putting the R Ashwin run-out incident behind him for good, Jos Buttler blasted seven sixes and eight fours during his hurricane innings of 89 off 43 balls, which helped Rajasthan Royals beat Mumbai Indians by four wickets in a thrilling game at Wankhede Stadium. This was RR’s just second win in seven games, as they continue to be placed second from bottom, while MI suffered their third defeat and are currently in third spot. Chasing 188, Buttler added 60 in just 38 balls with skipper Ajinkya Rahane (37/ 21b), who attacked from ball one in uncharacteristic fashion. The ultra-aggressive opener then found a good ally in Sanju Samson (31 off 26 balls), as the duo put on 87 in 42 balls to put RR in the driver’s seat.
Dhawan stars as DC slay KKR
Left is right for Delhi Capitals as their two left-handers Shikhar Dhawan and Rishabh Pant combined to help his side script a ‘double’ on Kolkata Knight Riders by recording a seven-wicket victory at the Eden Gardens. The Dhawan-Pant show was quite in contrast to the way the KKR innings unfolded where Andre Russell once again played a hurricane innings of 45 runs off 21 balls to help the hosts post 178/7 after DC skipper Shreyas Iyer won the toss and elected to bowl. There were no such huge shots as the 69-ball 105-run second wicket stand between Dhawan and Pant but they slowly by steadily took DC home with seven balls to spare.
MSD loses cool, CSK win match
The match between Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings at Sawai Mansingh Stadium will be better known for Captain Cool losing his cool than his team winning the contest. An infuriated Mahendra Singh Dhoni walked into the ground to challenge the umpire’s decision to revoke a no ball (high). That was just a ball before the match’s last official delivery, which Mitch Santner dispatched for a six. Ben Stokes, who bowled that eventful over, might get sleepless nights for the wides and no-balls he bowled in it. With this defeat, the Royals show in this edition is all but over. The best thing about Chennai Super Kings is that someone steps up to deliver when needed. It was Ambati Rayudu and Mahendra Singh Dhoni who came good to deliver the Super Kings their seventh victory in the ongoing IPL.
Pollard turns the table on Kings
Kieron Pollard played a blinder to pull off a miraculous win for the Mumbai Indians. Chasing a mammoth 198 runs to win Mumbai rode on Pollard’s 31ball-83 to romp home by three wickets against Kings XI Punjab. Though Pollard got out in the last over of Mumbai’s innings, the team needed only four runs off the last four balls and Alzarri Joseph hit the winning runs off the last ball of the match. Earlier, L Rahul smashed his maiden IPL hundred while Chris Gayle struck a 36-ball 63 to power Kings XI Punjab to an imposing 197 for four.
