Mumbai Indians’ opening jinx continues as Harshal, AB de Villiers help RCB win by 2 wickets in IPL 2021 opener

AB de Villiers’ super-human 27-ball 48 and Harshal Patel’s five-wicket haul helped RCB chase a 160-run target in the last ball to get a winning start in the IPL 2021. Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Virat Kohli won the toss and sent Rohit Sharma’s Mumbai Indians to bat first. Despite Chris Lynn’s 49, Mumbai could only post 159 in 20 overs.

On a rather slow pitch, RCB bowlers were off to a good start, keeping it tight. For Mumbai, despite two boundaries, they lost Hitman Rohit Sharma early in the 4th over. But Chris Lynn, returning to the MI squad after sitting out the entire IPL 2020 campaign, was on song. His 49-run knock, laced with 4 fours and 3 sixes, at a time looked dangerous for RCB.

However, Kyle Jamieson brought RCB back into the game with three good overs on debut. As Suryakumar Yadav started building on his good start, Jamieson scalped him soon. MI soon lost Lynn and Hardik Pandya, making it difficult to post a big total. In the end, it was Harshal Patel’s fantastic spell of 4-0-27-5 that helped RCB restrict Mumbai for 159/9 in 20 overs. It was also the first fifer for any bowler against Mumbai Indians.

In the chase, Kohli surprised many by bringing in Washington Sundar as his opening partner instead of Rajat Patidar. The duo was off to a good start after Rohit Sharma dropped Sundar off the second ball. But Krunal Pandya scalped Sundar in the fifth over to give MI the breakthrough. Debutant Rajat Patidar did not last long either. Then on, Glenn Maxwell and Kohli anchored the innings.

But Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah and Marco Jansen brought Mumbai back into the game with quick wickets. However, AB de Villiers with a fine 27-ball 48 kept RCB in the game. Despite his late run-out, RCB managed to chase the target in the last ball, winning the match by 2 wickets. The loss meant Mumbai Indians’ opening game jinx continued.