Mumbai Indians (MI) once again failed to win their opening Indian Premier League (IPL) game this year. They lost to Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by eight wickets at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Sunday, April 2.
For the uninitiated, five-time champions MI haven’t won their opening game in the T20 extravaganza under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy since 2012. That year, they beat Chennai Super Kings (CSK) by eight wickets under Harbhajan Singh’s leadership.
Since 2012, MI have lost to RCB (2013), Kolkata Knight Riders (2014 & 2015), now-defunct Rising Pune Supergiants (2016 & 2017), CSK (2018), Delhi Capitals (2019), CSK (2020), RCB (2021), and DC (2022), respectively.
Interestingly, Rohit Sharma and Co. have won their five IPL titles despite losing their opening fixture in 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2020.
The Mumbai-based franchise will now look to return to winning ways in their next IPL game against CSK at home on Saturday, April 8.
Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis shine in their IPL 2023 opener as Tilak Varma’s 84 goes in vain
A clinical batting performance from RCB openers Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis helped the hosts register a comprehensive eight-wicket win against Mumbai Indians on Sunday.
Kohli remained unbeaten on 82 off 49 balls, including five sixes and six boundaries. Du Plessis, on the other hand, hit 73 off 43 deliveries, including six maximums and five boundaries.
Together, the duo shared a partnership of 148 runs for the opening wicket. Glenn Maxwell also remained unbeaten on 12 off just three balls, hitting two sixes.
Earlier, Tilak Varma scored 84* off 46 balls to help MI post 171/7 in their allotted 20 overs after being asked to bat first. The southpaw hit four sixes and nine boundaries during his glittering knock.
Nehal Wadhera and Arshad Khan also contributed 21 and 15 after big guns – captain Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Cameron Green, and Tim David – failed to deliver with the bat.
Karn Sharma emerged as the pick of the bowlers for RCB, finishing with figures of 2/32.
Mohammed Siraj, Reece Topley, Akash Deep, Harshal Patel, and Michael Bracewell settled for one wicket apiece.