Defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) virtually sealed their playoffs spot, as they beat Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in Match 48 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday. It was Suryakumar Yadav, whose match-winning knock of an unbeaten 79, immensely helped his side in doing so.
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Match summary: Winning the toss, MI skipper Kieron Pollard opted to bowl first. The decision turned out to be a fair one, as RCB posted a par total of 1646, courtesy openers' Josh Philippe (33) and Padikkal (74), while Bumrah's 314 made it difficult for the RCB batsmen to steer past. In reply, it was Suryakumar's unbeaten knock of 79 that allowed them to get home and win by five wickets, with just three balls to spare, thus reclaiming the top spot.
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Following the win, Pollard was all-praise for Suryakumar, besides stating that consistency is the key for any individual to ride on success. "I am big on match-ups in a way. I also watch a lot of cricket. I took a punt and bowled at AB. I could have waited for the last over, but if someone has to go for runs, I thought I'd take it. The wicket changed the momentum for us," he said following the win.
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"Imagine someone batting at that strike-rate after two early wickets. Deep down inside, he must be very, very disappointed to not have donned the blue for India. He just keeps getting better. Again, as an individual, if you keep staying consistent, you will be rewarded. Nothing happens before its time," added Pollard.
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Meanwhile, RCB, who too needed just a win to seal their spot virtually, missed the line. Nonetheless, skipper Virat Kohli credited MI's batsmen for taking the game away from them.
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"We were in the game until the 17th over, and that was a decent effort by our bowlers. It's basically up to the gut of the captain and the conditions. Tonight, we though the ball might swing early, so we went with Dale [Steyn] and [Chris] Morris for initial swing, and Washy [Washington Sundar] in the powerplay. We needed a few wickets there, but their batsmen did a good job," said Kohli.
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"It was a strange phase of batting out there, where everything we hit went straight to the fielders. They bowled in good areas in the last five overs and kept us 20 runs short," concluded Kohli.
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As for MI, a loss for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) tonight would confirm their playoffs spot. Meanwhile, RCB still need a win to virtually secure their place, as they could miss out if the teams below them perform exceptionally well in the remaining matches.
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