Royal Challengers Bangalore kicked off their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 season with a magnificent victory against the five-time champions Mumbai Indians.
After Mumbai posted 171 runs on the board in the first innings, it was the brilliant knocks of ace India batter, Virat Kohli, and skipper, Faf du Plessis that propelled Bangalore to a fabulous victory. Kohli played an unbeaten knock of 82 runs in just 49 deliveries, whereas Du Plessis scored 73 off 43 deliveries.
Speaking about both batters’ performances, Royal Challengers Bangalore legend Chris Gayle came forward to heap praise on the duo. “We know Faf is class. He’s an excellent captain and an excellent player. He has done it all over international cricket as well, so this is not new to Faf,” Gayle was quoted as saying by JioCinema.
“One thing I can tell you, Virat and Faf are going to feed off each other perfectly. Look at the way they start; they look to drop and run. They pick up their ones and their twos, and by the third over comes, they’re ready to take it out. That’s something bowlers and teams got to be aware of because these two, I’ve said this before, you’re guaranteed almost 400 runs,” he added.
MI’s bowling looked really weak: Suresh Raina
“The way RCB chased the total down in 16 overs, which will help their run rate later in the tournament, MI’s bowling looked really weak. It didn’t even look like a wicket would fall,” Raina said.
The five-time champions, Mumbai Indians began the IPL 2023 with a loss.
