RCB and MI were facing one another for the second time in this edition of IPL. With the playoff spot hanging in the balance these two teams were equally eager to secure this win and add two more points to their tally. With such tenaciousness in the air, the coin was spun with Rohit Sharma calling it right and choosing to field first.

Virat Kohli opened the innings for RCB along with Chris Gayle, whose return was looked forward to by the Challengers. RCB’s top-order were surprised by the slowness of the pitch. The openers couldn’t adjust to the pace and were dismissed early in the innings. AB de Villiers curbed his attacking instincts and played a careful knock before he gave a simple catch to Ambati Rayudu for 24(27). KL Rahul 68(53) played well as he continued his rich vein of form to score his fourth consecutive fifty. Shane Watson was also in a good nick until he was sent back by Rohit Sharma with a spectacular effort on-field. Sachin Baby did some damage, in the death overs to propel RCB’s total to 151 runs which was still a below par total at this venue.

MI openers had a shaky start with Parthiv Patel getting out in the second over. Rohit and Rayudu tried to lay a foundation for the chase but the skipper got taken out around the half way mark. RCB were brilliant on the field saving runs at will and pulling off important catches. Stuart Binny took a blinder on the cover boundary to send back debutant Nitish Rana. It was Kieron Pollard who hit a 19 ball 35 and re-assured the victory for us. His innings had some meaty blows that put RCB’s hopes to rest. The West Indian clobbered 15 runs of Watson’s over and brought the required run-rate well within the range. Jos Buttler 29(11), joined Pollard in the assault as he cracked a few lusty blows towards the end and gave the MI innings an impetus. Buttler and Pollard took us home with 8 balls to spare.

Krunal Pandya was the man of the match. His 1 wicket with a handout of only 15 runs in 4 overs is what got him this honour. The title that generally batsmen win in this format was won by a bowler. He was happy about his performance tonight, “I feel good that a bowler has won the man of the match in this format. Am really happy about the way I bowled today. Getting results and ending the game on a winning note feels really good.” He further spoke about the chase, “the wicket wasn’t the normal Bangalore wicket. In today’s game, it was on the slower side. The ball had a slight grip. So when we went up to bat, the main plan was to keep the wickets at the backend. When you need 150-160, it is quite achievable because the ground is small and if you have wickets in hand then definitely you have the upper hand.”