South African newcomer Hendrik Jansevanrensburg earned the title of Best Gladiator at COT 2024 with a standout performance
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A magnificent opening partnership between skipper Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli set up Royal Challengers Bangalore's eight-wicket victory in the Indian Premier League at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru on Sunday.
After Tilak Varma's explosive half-century (84 not out) helped Mumbai Indians reach a competitive total of 171/7, Du Plessis (73 off 43 balls, 5 fours, 6 sixes) and Kohli (82 not out off 49 balls, 6 fours, 5 sixes) put on an exhilarating exhibition of batting against pace and spin to earn the Bangalore franchise a memorable win.
"Phenomenal win. Homecoming after so man years. Credit to their batters for getting to that score. Tilak batted well. We kept backing ourselves. Faf went first, and I joined later. I am very happy with how things went today," Kohli said after the match.
"The new ball was a bit tricky, but we shifted the momentum by taking them down with the new ball. We nullified all their intensity. The wicket was quite a nice one. We hit good areas and kept putting pressure on the bowlers."
Chasing its first-ever IPL title, RCB could not have hoped for a better start in front of its home fans.
"The first game of the IPL, and to perform like that was great. Apart from Mumbai winning five times and Chennai four times, we have qualified the most number of times, so we do play consistent cricket," Kohli said.
"It's just about staying focused, and just try to be the best balanced team. We need to play on this momentum. We just need to execute better."
Earlier, MI, after being put into bat, was off to a disappointing start. The home side put pressure on MI with their accurate line and length.
Opener Ishan Kishan succumbed to Mohammed Siraj's pace in the powerplay for just 10 off 13 with two fours after being caught by Harshal Patel at the deep.
Cameron Green was then dismissed by pacer Reece Topley.
Wickets kept falling at regular intervals, but Varma (84 not out off 46 balls, 9 fours, 4 sixes) staged a heroic fightback with some breathtaking shots to take Mumbai to a competitive total.
In the end, the 20-year-old batsman's efforts were not enough as Kohli and Du Plessis made a mockery of the target, helping RCB reach home with 22 balls to spare.
"Didn't have a great start but was a good effort from Tilak at the end. But the bowlers didn't bowl well. We didn't bat good enough, it was a good pitch," Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma admitted after the match.
Brief scores
MI: 171/7 (Tilak Varma 84*, Nehal Wadhera 21, Karn Sharma 2/32)
RCB 172/2 in 16.2 overs (Virat Kohli 82 not out, Faf du Plessis 73, Glenn Maxwell 12 not out; Arshad Khan 1/28)
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