WHAT.A.MATCH. WHAT.A.CHASE. WHAT.A.WIN. WHAT.AN.EVENING!

Woah!!! It’s moments like these that we live for. It’s moments like these that have the Mumbai Indians stamp all over them. The nerves were right up there, our nails were completely chewed off, but the belief was always there. The chase always seemed under control. You know that when you have a 16-year-old playing only her second game knocking off the winning runs in some style.

Aman ko NAMAN, and Kamalini’s KAMAAL!

After skipper Harmanpreet Kaur got MI real close with her superb fifty, Sajana S and she fell off consecutive deliveries to bring in another twist into this game. Nah, not when the other Kaur was around. Aman, who’d played second fiddle until then, took over, smashed a six off the first and last ball of the 19^th over, brought the asking rate down to a run a ball in the final over. Four runs came off the first four balls. Two were needed in two. Kamalini had the strike.

There’s no way you could tell she was playing only her second game. With sheer confidence, she danced down and thrashed the ball through the gap in the covers. Mumbai were home, with a ball to spare, and RCB were handed their first defeat of the season!

Nat smashes, Harman sets it up

Just aesthetically, the most pleasing thing perhaps was the late, delicate cuts that Kaptaan Kaur was dishing out with real precision. In typical style, she mixed aggression with caution, calculating the chase perfectly and never letting the pressure be seen.

Nat Sciver-Brunt, in contrast, was in the zone to smash it around. With nine fours in her 21-ball stay, she notched up 42 vital runs, giving the chase of 168 the much-needed impetus.

More of NAMAN to Aman

It’s not just her batting that was the evening’s highlight. When Ellyse Perry was going nuts and whacking the ball around in the first innings, it was her three-fer that kept the run-scoring in check from the other end, making sure RCB were kept well under 180.

Paltannnn!!!! We have two wins on the bounce now. The last-ball heartbreak in the first game has successfully been put behind us. We’ve also put last season’s agony from the Eliminator behind us. Let’s match, onwards, upwards..