Raipur: Tilak Varma scored a tenacious 57 but a splendid 4/23 from Bhuvneshwar Kumar helped Royal Challengers Bengaluru restrict Mumbai Indians to a scratchy 166 for seven in their Indian Premier League match here Sunday.
On a pitch replete with cracks and uneven bounce for fast bowlers, senior Indian seamer Bhuvneshwar returned 4-0-23-4 while making the most of the conditions on offer, which included a three-wicket burst to put his side on top.
Bhuvneshwar ran through MI’s top-order, dismissing Ryan Rickelton (2), Rohit Sharma (22) and stand-in skipper Suryakumar Yadav (0) to leave them tottering at 28 for three early on.
But to their credit, Tilak (57 off 42 balls; 3x4s, 2x6s) and Naman Dhir (47) dug in deep for a resolute 82-run stand for the fourth wicket to lay the foundation for an at-par total on a pitch which forced the batters to work hard for their runs throughout.
Tilak also had Suyash Sharma to thank for dropping a sitter when he was on nine in the sixth over, since another wicket might have completely derailed a struggling MI.
Tilak was beaten by an off-pace delivery from Rasikh Salam, and a top edge flew to Suyash at midwicket, where the ball went through the fielder’s hands for an embarrassing drop.
Coming together in a perilous situation, both Tilak and Dhir showed great resolve during their fourth-wicket stand in rotating the strike and playing the ball as per merit. While he was undone by a cross-seam delivery which kept low, Dhir struck five fours and two sixes to make 47 off 32 balls.
Before it all, ace Indian seamer Bhuvneshwar put RCB in a commanding position with an early burst for three wickets, which was also the sixth occasion the 36-year-old has taken a three-wicket haul in this IPL.
Bhuvneshwar struck on the final ball of the opening over to remove an in-form Ryan Rickelton (2). The Protea batter went for a lofted drive, but extra bounce had him hitting it in the air and straight to RCB skipper Rajat Patidar at mid-off.
Having cracked a four off Josh Hazlewood in the next, Rohit Sharma (22) sent the ball flying over the ropes twice in a row to get off the blocks.
However, the brilliance of Bhuvneshwar came to the fore again despite being hit for a four past the short third in the third over. Bhuvneshwar floated a knuckle ball while taking pace off it outside off, which had Rohit reaching out for it but only to edge it behind.
Suryakumar Yadav’s (0) forgettable IPL season had another failure when he too went with hard hands against one that was comparatively quicker yet probing outside off. A thick edge flew to Virat Kohli, who was jubilant having completed a perfect catch to leave MI reeling.
