A stellar effort at the death with the ball, followed by a measured chase with the bat saw Mumbai beat Bangalore by five wickets.
Here are the key talking points from the contest:
SKY has no limit
Snubbed from the Indian team travelling to Australia, Suryakumar Yadav must have certainly felt a pinch, but like always, the Mumbai native had the perfect response, smashing a match-winning 79 runs off 43 balls to help his side all but clinch a playoff spot. SKY, as he is fondly known, hit boundaries and sixes in his sensational knock, showcasing why he deserved to be on the plane Down Under.
Devdutt's dazzling knock
In a team that boasts of two of the greatest batsmen of their generation in Virat Kohli and AB de Villers, it was young Devdutt Padikkal who yet again stood out with an outstanding effort with the bat. The young opener smashed 74 off 45 balls on a day when the rest of Bangalore's batting line-up failed to get going. Devdutt’s measured knock included 12 fours and a six, as the youngster continues to prove why he’s one to watch out for the future.
Boom goes Bangalore's batting line-up
At 95/1 in the 12th over, Bangalore were in prime position to post a huge total against a deep Mumbai batting line-up, but an inspired bowling change from stand-in skipper Kieron Pollard changed the tide of the contest. He brought in Jasprit Bumrah, who picked up the prized wicket of in-form Virat Kohli which derailed the Bangalore batting line-up. He added two more wickets to his kitty while bowling tight lines, cramping the batsmen for room and finished with figures of 3-15 in his quota of four which helped Mumbai restrict Bangalore to just 165. A stunning display from one of, if not the best white-ball bowler on the planet.
A priceless victory
With this win, Mumbai built a two-point lead over second and third-placed Bangalore and Delhi with two games left in the league stage, but more importantly, they built a four-point buffer between themselves and fifth-placed Kolkata. While mathematically, Kolkata can still finish level on points with Mumbai, the reigning champions' +1.67 net run-rate advantage will certainly be impossible for Kolkata to bridge, meaning that Mumbai are all but guaranteed a place in the 2020 Indian T20 League playoffs.
Feature image courtesy: Twitter.com / Mumbai
