Mumbai, April 20 (IANS) A much needed 24-ball 37 by Travis Head helped Royal Challengers Bangalore post a competitive total of 170/7 in 20 overs against Mumbai Indians in an Indian Premier League (IPL) match at the Wankhede Stadium here on Wednesday.
Put into bat, the visitors got off to a flying star scoring 49 for the loss of one wicket after completion of powerplay.
K.L. Rahul took the initiative at the start, smashing two fours and two sixes for his 14-ball 23, but the right-handed batsman fell in the fourth over off the bowling of Mitchell McClenaghan to give Mumbai their first breakthrough.
But the wicket did not stop incoming batsman AB de Villiers (29) and opener Virat Kohli (33) from playing their natural game.
The duo, who in the previous season smashed an unbeaten 215-run partnership at this venue against the same opposition, made it look simple, piling on boundaries and sneaking in with twos at regular intervals to bring up a 50-run partnership for the second wicket in just 35 balls and help the team post 89/1 in 10 overs.
But the 11th over of the Bangalore innings saw a big twist in the game as off-spinner Krunal Pandya dismissed in-form Kohli (caught at long-off) followed by De Villiers (stumped) to bring Mumbai back into the game.
Bangalore, after the two quick blows, were reduced to 93/3.
Incoming batsman Shane Watson (5) too didn't last long. Trying to guide an outside off stump delivery to third man, he eventually got a thin edge which was grabbed well by wicket-keeper Parthiv Patel.
Next up, young Sarfaraz Khan (28) and Head held on to guide the team to 112/4 after completion of 15 overs.
The right and left handed batting duo played sensibly to struck a much needed 50-run partnership for the fifth wicket in just 30 balls.
Jasprit Bumrah (3-31) and Krunal Pandya (2-27) were the pick of the bowlers for Mumbai.
Brief Scores: Royal Challengers Bangalore 170/7 in 20 overs (Travis Head 37; Jasprit Bumrah 3-31, Krunal Pandya 2-27) vs Mumbai Indians
