‘Virat and Faf are going to feed off each other perfectly’ - Chris Gayle reflects on Royal Challengers Bangalore’s terrific win against Mumbai Indians

Royal Challengers Bangalore kicked off their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 season with a magnificent victory against the five-time champions Mumbai Indians. Both sides took each other on in the fifth match of the tournament, and the Faf du Plessis-led side performed exceptionally with both the bat and the ball.

After Mumbai posted 171 runs on the board in the first innings, it was the brilliant knocks of ace India batter, Virat Kohli, and skipper, Faf du Plessis that propelled Bangalore to a fabulous victory. Kohli played an unbeaten knock of 82 runs in just 49 deliveries, whereas Du Plessis scored 73 off 43 deliveries.

Speaking about both batters’ performances, Royal Challengers Bangalore legend Chris Gayle came forward to heap praise on the duo. "We know Faf is class. He’s an excellent captain and an excellent player. He has done it all over international cricket as well, so this is not new to Faf," Gayle was quoted as saying by JioCinema.

"One thing I can tell you, Virat and Faf are going to feed off each other perfectly. Look at the way they start; they look to drop and run. They pick up their ones and their twos, and by the third over comes, they’re ready to take it out. That’s something bowlers and teams got to be aware of because these two, I’ve said this before, you’re guaranteed almost 400 runs," he added.

MI’s bowling looked really weak: Suresh Raina

Speaking about the game between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians, former India batter Suresh Raina also came forward to give his take on Bangalore’s chase and Mumbai’s weak bowling performance. He seemed quite disappointed with MI's lacklustre bowling. Furthermore, he also shed light on the importance of having a good run rate in the coveted IPL.

"The way RCB chased the total down in 16 overs, which will help their run rate later in the tournament, MI’s bowling looked really weak. It didn’t even look like a wicket would fall," Raina said.

The five-time champions, Mumbai Indians began the IPL 2023 with a loss. The Rohit Sharma-led side would be desperate to improve upon their performance in the upcoming matches. Mumbai will want to open their winning account when they face their arch-rivals Chennai Super Kings in their den at the Wankhede Stadium. Meanwhile, RCB will be looking to continue their winning momentum against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in their next match away from home at the iconic Eden Gardens.