IPL 2018, RCB vs MI: Tim Southee's death bowling is SK Turning Point of the match
The Royal Challengers Bangalore clinched their third victory of the Indian Premier League 2018 against the Mumbai Indians in a must-win encounter for both the sides at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Tuesday (May 1).
Rohit Sharma won the toss and decided to field first against Virat Kohli and his men. The hosts started off well, but their innings tapered off in the last three overs, as Mumbai pulled things back through a terrific thee-wicket over from Hardik Pandya. RCB finished with a slightly under-par total of 167/7 at the end of the first innings.
It seemed as if the Mumbai Indians would manage to get yet another victory at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. However, the home side showed grit and guts in their bowling display on the day and pulled a rabbit out of their hat in the second innings of the game.
The visitors were reduced to 84/5 after the first 12 overs, thanks to a superlative bowling performance from Umesh Yadav and Co. However, the Pandya brothers steadied the ship for Mumbai and set the team up for a strong chase on the day.
However, Tim Southee, who was finally brought into the playing XI in RCB's last game, showed why he should've been at the crux of their bowling plans from the very outset. Kohli used him well on the day and ensured that he had two overs left in the death overs of the game.
The Kiwi seamer's effort, most definitely, was the SK Turning Point of the match. He was also given the Man of the Match award for his impressive death bowling performance.
Southee was brought back to bowl the 18th over of the chase when both Hardik and Krunal Pandya were looking to put the foot on the pedal. However, the New Zealand international brought his A game to the middle and gave away just five runs in the over.
Then, he came back to bowl the last over of the game, when MI required 25 runs to win the game. With Hardik at the crease, MI still had a chance to come out on top of the encounter at the end of it all. However, Southee dismissed him off the very first delivery of the over, ensuring that his team did not let the match get out of their hands.
Mumbai Indians ended their innings at 153/7 after 20 overs, falling to yet another defeat in the tournament this year. It looks really difficult for them to make it to the playoffs now, as they need six victories in the subsequent six games to have a chance at making it into the top four.
Our tournament homepage has IPL live score, Match Analysis, Detailed Stats, Fantasy Tips, Controversies, Match Predictions and much more. Bookmark it now!