Twitter Reactions: Tilak Varma's brave knock in vain as Du Plessis-Kohli duo shines bright to give RCB clinical victory

Tilak Verma smashed 84* off 46 to help Mumbai Indians post a total of 171/7 while batting first.

Published - 02 Apr 2023, 23:23 IST | Updated - 02 Apr 2023, 22:29 IST

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Royals Challengers Bangalore thrashed Mumbai Indians by eight wickets in the fifth match of the Indian Premier League 2023 (IPL) on Sunday, April 2. Mumbai Indians managed to post a challenging total of 171/7 with Tilak Varma scoring a sensational fifty while batting first. But Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis put in impressive knocks to guide the hosts to a memorable win at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Faf won the toss and invited the travelling side to bat first. Cameron Green, Jofra Archer, Nehal Wadhera, and Arshad Khan made their debuts for Mumbai while the Royal Challengers gave caps to Michael Bracewell ahead of Kiwi opener Finn Allen.

Bangalore bowlers were impressive from the start and added early pressure on Mumbai with Ishan Kishan, Rohit Sharma, and Cameron Green's wickets in powerplay overs. Mohammad Siraj dismissed struggling Kishan in the third over to give RCB an opening.

Rohit seemed unsettled and managed to score just one run off ten balls. Akash Deep put Rohit out of his misery in the sixth over as RCB completely owned the powerplay overs. Tilak then single-handedly soaked the pressure to produce his career-best T20 knock. He smashed 84* off just 46 and finished the innings with a big six off Harshal Patel to put Mumbai in a comfortable position.

But unlike RCB, Mumbai's much-changed bowling attack struggled for the wickets. Openers Virat and Faf took early control to ensure a big win for the Royals Challengers. The duo pulled off a 148-run stand for the opening wicket as they displayed quality T20 cricket to treat the home fans.

Arshad gave Mumbai a consolation wicket in form of Faf's wicket in the 15th over when Bangalore needed just 24 runs to win. Faf scored 73 off 43 and RCB lost Dinesh Karthik on a duck in the next over. But Kohli and Glenn Maxwell avoided further damage and finished the game with 22 balls to spare. Kohli top-scored with 82* off 49 with six fours and five sixes and finished the game in style.