5 memorable moments from the MI-RCB match that don't fade away

This was supposed to be a tight affair between these two teams. However, it wasn’t. As an erratic Mumbai Indians took on the team with the best batting line-up in the tournament, a lot of runs were expected, at least from RCB’s end.

However, some tight bowling from the men in blue restricted the Bangalore team to a meagre 170. The term meagre might sound like an overstatement, but given how flat the deck was and the star power in the team, a target of 200 was a justified expectations.

Mumbai Indians’ batting in this tournament has been very inconsistent, to say the least. While batting first, they seem to lose track and tumble down easily. On the other hand, they become completely different beasts while chasing as they win their second consecutive game while chasing.

There were plenty of moments in the match that don't fade away, quite like the Axe Signature range of body perfumes. Here are 5 of the best:

Krunal the better Pandya

When the tournament began, a lot was expected from Hardik Pandya. The young Indian had a good outing at the World T20 earlier this month and Mumbai Indians had a gem in their team.

Among this, the signing of another Pandya went under the radar: Hardik’s older brother, Krunal Pandya.

Naturally, people expected the younger sibling to overshadow his older brother, but it has been the opposite thus far.

Today’s game was no exception as well since Krunal once again outdid his brother in the bowling department. In 4 overs, he took 2 wickets while giving away only 27 runs—which, against a batting line-up like that of RCB’s, is an incredible feat.

Travis shows why RCB must make a slot for him

Chris Gayle. AB De Villiers. Shane Watson. And a bowler. Somewhere in this, Travis Head never gets a look in.

However, a personal leave for Chris Gayle forced the Challengers to look for other options in the batting department. In came Travis Head, the best value-for-money player in the RCB team.

In his first game itself, he has put the team-management in dilemma with his superb knock of 37 in 24 balls. It is quite impossible to bench Chris Gayle. However, RCB must find a way to get him into the team because he is one of the best T20 players the world has to offer.

And he showed just that today. If it weren’t for an unfortunate run out, the Challengers might have had more runs on board.

Sarfaraz show

The youngster is having the time of his life. After a terrific under-19 World Cup, many expected him to continue his blast in the IPL. And, so far, he has lived up to the expectations.

In another show of power hitting, he smacked the Mumbai bowlers left and right—especially the dangerous McClenaghan—and helped RCB post a score that the bowlers could defend.

In the 18 balls that he played, he scored 28 runs to push the score to 170—and this came at a time when the star trio of Kohli, De Villiers and Watson couldn’t produce the goods that they usually do.

Rohit Sharma leads from front

One of the negatives Indian fans took from the World T20 was their failed opening pair. Both Dhawan and Sharma couldn’t stick together for long and given the middle order something to stand on and build a huge innings.

While Shikhar Dhawan’s atrocious form has continued, Rohit Sharma is showing glimpses of brilliance with his performances.

He might not be as consistent as he would have liked, but he is improving and it is only a matter of time before he explodes to his best.

In an innings that gave the middle order the best platform to chase the game, he scored 62 runs in just 44 balls. The innings took away a lot of pressure from the others and helped us witness…

Pollard doing his magic

It has been a very long time since we have seen the best of Kieron Pollard. It seems as though form and him have become enemies as the West Indian hasn’t been functioning at his best for quite a while now.

Despite that, Mumbai Indians have stuck with him and have continuously given him chance after chance—and today he repaid their faith.

Rohit Sharma and Jos Buttler took the game to relative safety for the Indians, but Pollard made sure that they didn’t choke as he rained sixes with his bat to score a 19 ball 40—giving Mumbai a thumping 6 wicket win in the process. The amazing part? He scored 34 of those 40 runs in boundaries.