Mumbai

Mumbai Indians batter Suryakumar Yadav played a knock which will stay in the memory of fans who witnessed him throughout his knock as MI registered a crucial victory against Royal Challengers Bangalore by six wickets to move to the third spot with 12 points in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 at the Wankhede Stadium on Tuesday.

Chasing 200, MI got off to a fluent start as the Indian free run-scoring opener Ishan Kishan went on the attack early. Rohit assisted Kishan as the duo struck three fours off Josh Hazlewood in the second over. Kishan then took the attack to Siraj, hitting two consecutive sixes.

Kishan went after Hasaranga as he came into the attack with a four and a six but the Sri Lankan all-rounder hit back hard to have Kishan (42 off 21) caught behind and then trap Rohit Sharma (7 off 8) lbw with a successful review.

Nehal Wadhera and Suryakumar Yadav then took the charge which included both caution as well as aggression. They took the score to 99/2 at the halfway mark.

The pair then hit fifth gear as Hasaranga came back into the attack. They hit a six each in the Sri Lankan's over.

After Hasaranga they took 10 runs off Hazlewood and hammered 17 runs off Harshal to bring the equation down to 59 needed off 42 balls. Suryakumar Yadav brought up his fifty off just 25 balls as he cracked a four and a straight six off Siraj.

Suryakumar then went berserk smashing two sixes off Hasaranga and two sixes and a four off Vijaykumar Vyshak but the RCB pacer bounced back to have Suryakumar caught.

As the star MI batter walked back towards the dugout, his name echoed throughout the entire stadium which was followed up by a standing ovation from the crowd.

Vyshak then sent back David off the next ball as the roller-coaster 19-run over came to an end with 7 needed off 24 balls.

Wadhera then finished off the match by cracking a six as MI won by six wickets with 21 balls to spare. He remained unbeaten on 52 off 34 balls.

Earlier, RCB's dangerous opening pair of Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis stepped up on the crease as the visitors were asked to bat first.

The first over was a mere glimpse of the events that were about to unfold as Nehal Wadhera dropped Faf on zero but Jason Behrendorff came back on the very next ball to dismiss Kohli who attempted to play a drive but ended up nicking the ball off the next ball. Kohli departed without making his mark on the match with a score of 1(4).

Anuj Rawat came in and looked lively early on the innings, but Behrendorff struck once again as he dismissed Rawat for a score of 6(4).

When the future looked bleak for RCB, Maxwell and Faf launched a storm that swept away MI's bowlers within a blink of an eye.

MI skipper Rohit Sharma brought Piyush Chawla into the attack to ensure MI's dominance in the game as spin bowling has been Maxwell's Achilles heel for the majority of his career.

But instead of playing with caution, Maxwell went to target him to stabilise RCB's sinking ship.

Maxwell and Faf dealt in boundaries for the next six five overs. Maxwell brought his half-century just four balls before the 10th over and they crossed the 100-run mark in the 10th over.

RCB were destined to cross the 200-run mark but Behrendorff came back into the attack, broke through the partnership and picked up his third wicket of the match. Maxwell became his third victim as the Australian tried to clear the fence but the ball landed straight into the hands of Wadhera.

This wicket marked the end of their game-changing 120-run partnership.

MI got the wicket that they were desperately in search of and this marked the downfall of RCB's innings in the next overs. They lost two wickets in the next overs. One of them was the set batter Faf du Plessis, who ended his knock with a score of 65(41).

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MI managed to restrict RCB before they crossed the 200-run mark as Akash Madhwal conceded 6 runs in the final over to end RCB's innings on 199/6.