RCB vs MI Highlights IPL 2023: 3 moments that generated a buzz among fans in Match 5
The fifth match of the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) saw the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) take on the Mumbai Indians (MI) on Sunday, April 2 at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Rohit Sharma, leading in his 200th T20 encounter, lost the toss and was put into bat first by Faf du Plessis.
MI endured a nightmarish powerplay after their top order found themselves back in the pavilion in no time. Mohammed Siraj and Reece Topley found movement with the new ball, leaving the visiting side struggling at 20/3 in the sixth over.
Tilak Varma took charge after the powerplay and carried the innings forward despite wickets tumbling around him. IPL debutant Nehal Wadhera chipped in with a valuable cameo while Varma went berserk in the death overs and ended up scoring an unbeaten 84 off 46 deliveries to push MI's score to 171/7.
However, the youngster's exploits went in vain as RCB proceeded to chase down the target with relative ease. Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis struck half-centuries as the hosts chased down the total with eight wickets and 22 deliveries to spare to get their IPL campaign off to a terrific start.
On that note, let's take a look at three moments that created buzz during the RCB vs MI tie.
#1 Reece's Topley stunning inswinging yorker to send Cameron Green back
Making his IPL debut, Reece Topley made the new ball talk and constantly troubled the MI top order. The left-arm seamer saved the best for fellow debutant Cameron Green with a brilliant inswinging yorker that rattled the stumps.
The all-rounder tried to play the delivery through the off-side, but his poor footwork did not help his cause, leading to an inside edge that found its way to the stumps.
Topley was electric in his IPL debut, to say the least. Apart from his bowling display, he was all over the field with his acrobatic efforts to save runs for the team.
However, one such athletic effort led to his downfall as he proceeded to sustain a shoulder injury, which caused him to leave the field and subsequently be ruled out of the contest.
#2 Mohammed Siraj and Dinesh Karthik collide to give Rohit Sharma a lifeline
Much like Topley, his new-ball partner Mohammed Siraj was also brilliant in the powerplay. The Indian right-arm pacer continued his rich vein of form into the IPL to leave the MI top order fidgety at the crease.
Siraj had already claimed the wicket of Ishan Kishan and was very close to getting rid of skipper Rohit Sharma as well. The pacer bowled a well-directed bouncer to Sharma, who was struggling at the crease, and the opener naturally went for the pull shot but got no connection whatsoever.
Wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik and Siraj both went for the resulting catch. However, with the rampant Chinnaswamy crowd making their voices heard, communication was difficult, leading to an awful collision between the two players and a squandered opportunity.
Rohit Sharma could not make the most of his second life after edging one to the keeper off Akash Deep's bowling in the very next over.
#3 Virat Kohli's onslaught against Jofra Archer
Virat Kohli was feeding off the energy from the packed crowd at Chinnaswamy Stadium but still maintained his composure while dealing with the run-chase.
The former RCB skipper had a major reprieve after Jofra Archer dropped a tough return catch off his maiden delivery as a MI player. However, Kohli did not look back since then and took down Archer in some style.
The ace batter struck boundaries at will against the England speedster and scored 26 runs off him, which is the highest anyone has ever scored off Archer in a T20 game.
Archer ultimately ended up with forgettable bowling figures of 0-33 off his four overs.
Will RCB end their IPL trophy drought this season? Let us know what you think.