BENGALURU: Season after season, Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers have carried Royal Challengers Bangalore on their back. They are the two highest run-scorers for the franchise.
No wonder that chants of ‘Virat, Virat’ and ‘ABD, ABD’ are a regular feature at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. Despite their performances, Bangalore have never won the title and the primary reason for that is the failure of the other batsmen to contribute in a significant manner when required.
It was for this reason that Bangalore decided to strengthen their middle-order at the last auction to relieve pressure on the star duo, paying mega bucks to acquire Shimron Hetmyer and Shivam Dube.
The duo cost a combined Rs 9.2 cr, but it did not count for much against Mumbai Indians on Thursday. Dube may be forgiven, as he came in at the end when the going was tough. But overall, it was a repeat of past seasons. Though Kohli (46) and De Villiers (70) batted brilliantly, others failed, resulting in a disappointing six-run loss.
There was late controversy as well. Lasith Malinga overstepped while delivering the last ball of the match, with Bangalore needing seven to win. Umpire S Ravi overlooked and an irate Kohli made his disappointment clear after the match.
“This is not a club match...The umpires should keep their eyes open,” he said. Even Mumbai skipper Rohit Sharma felt it was an error by the umpire. “They should correct mistakes, like players do.”
Coming back to the match, with wickets falling around him regularly, the pressure doubled on De Villiers. The other problem was players like Colin de Grandhomme, who ate up deliveries at a crucial juncture. He scored two from seven balls, which made matters worse for Bangalore, who had 22 to make off the last two overs against two of the best death bowlers in the world. Jasprit Bumrah was at his menacing best, scalping three for 20 runs.
Parthiv Patel had given Bangalore a decent start, and Kohli looked in good touch right from the start. Bangalore looked good when Kohli and De Villiers were batting. They were rotating the strike and converting ones into twos. After the dismissal of Kohli, things started becoming difficult. The South African delivered his A game after a nervy start. He batted splendidly and even threatened to win the game on his own.
Mumbai should be thankful to Hardik Pandya (32 off 14) for their maiden win of the season, as it was the all-rounder’s big-hitting which got them to an impressive total. Else, Bangalore might have had an easier target to chase down. The Mumbai man was at his sizzling best, striking three lofty sixes. One of them sailed out of the stadium.