Storm Surya hit the Wankhede as he and Nehal Wadhera (52 not out) made light work of the 200 chase. Taking the Bangalore bowlers to the cleaners on a batting beauty, Surya and Nehal added a fiery clash of 140 runs with only 66 balls for the third wicket to mow down the visitors.
The emphatic win helped Mumbai move to third in the points table from a lowly 8th while the loss pushed RCB one place lower to seventh.
A fourth-century stand of the season between Faf du Plessis (65 from 41) and Glenn Maxwell (68 from 33) took Royal Challengers Bangalore to 199 for five after Mumbai batted them.
Chasing 200, Mumbai Indians maintained their spotless record of not losing to RCB at Wankhede since IPL 2015, claiming victory in 16.3 overs.
As it happened
Suryakumar hit six sixes and seven fours in his sensational effort which hit a strike rate of over 237.
Promoted to No. 4, Wadhera, who was dropped on the 16th on a difficult return chance by Wanindu Hasaranga (2/53), then lifted his second fifty of the season. The left-handed hitter hit four fours and three sixes to go 52 on 34 balls.
After their bowlers sparked something of a comeback in the first half of the game, the Mumbai Indians never looked under pressure with their revamped batting order, despite Rohit Sharma continuing the regular run.
Mumbai Indians captain Sharma was dismissed for just seven, but a fast start provided by Ishan Kishan (42) and a solid position for the third wicket put RCB out of the game.
RCB were sailing towards a big total at one point when MI fought back to apply the brakes, and the visitors’ failure to put on even 200 came back hurting them.
Hasaranga struck twice inside the fifth to stop Mumbai’s charge, getting Ishan Kishan behind after a quick 21-ball 42 and Rohit Sharma (7), as MI ended the power play at 62/ 2.
Kishan hit four sixes and as many fours, contributing strongly to his opening 51-point position with Sharma, who was fired for a fifth straight single-digit tally.
Suryakumar finished his fourth fifty of the season and his third here at Wankhede, with just 26 balls.
Earlier, RCB was rocked early by Jason Behrendorff (4-0-36-3) who struck twice on the power play, before du Plessis (65 of 41) and Maxwell (68 of 33) teamed up to expose again MI’s bowling problems as making the most of the perfect hitting conditions.
Du Plessis and Maxwell added 120 runs for the fourth wicket from just 62 balls, fueling RCB’s charge after the Mumbai Indians made early inroads with Virat Kohli (1) and Anuj Rawat (6) falling early.
Maxwell was in his element as he played some exceptional shots, hitting four sixes and eight fours to register his fourth half this season.
On the other hand, du Plessis, dropped by Nehal Wadhera in the first set when he had yet to open his account, was equally impressive with his stroke game, attacking fast bowlers and spinners to reach his sixth half-century.
Du Plessis also extended his lead at the top of the list of top run-geters this year, hitting 576 runs in 11 matches averaging 64.
But to their credit, MI fought back in the second half to dismiss Maxwell, Mahipal Lomror (1) and du Plessis in quick succession which halted RCB’s charge as they couldn’t get past the 200 point mark which at a moment seemed likely. .
The Mumbai Indians bowlers did well to allow just 68 runs in the last seven overs, delivering a much improved performance with the ball.
The RCB went from 131/2 after 13 overs to 146/5 in the 15th before Dinesh Karthik (30 from 18 balls) did well to banish his ordinary run with the bat.
(With PTI entries)
Show MI vs RCB IPL 2023 Highlights: Suryakumar blitz propels Mumbai to third place
