Bengaluru, April 2: Royal Challengers Bangalore had a homecoming to remember as they cruised to an emphatic 8-wicket win over Mumbai Indians at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on April 2.
Chasing a target of 172 on a batting-friendly Chinnaswamy track, Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis shared their third-century stand, this time 148 and gave Royal Challengers Bangalore a perfect start.
Riding upon captain Du Plessis' 73 (43b) and Kohli's 82* off 49 balls, RCB made quick work of the run chase and overhauled the total in 16.2 overs to not just pick two points but also a better net run rate.
Opening the innings for RCB against a quality Mumbai Indians bowling attack, the duo cleared their intentions pretty early in front of a full-capacity home crowd. As the familiar chants of 'Kohli-Kohli' and 'RCB-RCB' filled the air with excitement at the iconic venue - which has been witness to several memorable moments in the league's history.
RCB got a headstart against a solid fast-bowling attack from Mumbai Indians. Kohli and Du Plessis shared an unbeaten stand of 53 in the powerplay. Kohli - who was dropped by Jofra Archer on 7 off the bowler's first ball - made the visitors pay for their folly. He got another reprieve on 68 when Hrithik Shokeen put down a sitter at the square-leg region.
His six off Piyush Chawla in the 11th over which also brought a hundred up for RCB. The cheer for that shot perhaps was the loudest one as the Delhi cricketer took a stride forward and dispatched it over the long-on boundary.
Cameron Green - the Rs 17.5 crore recruit from Australia - was hammered for 17 runs in his first over in the IPL as du Plessis plundered him for a couple of boundaries and a fine scoop shot for a maximum.
The former and current RCB skipper matched each other shot by shot and took every Mumbai Indians bowler on the offensive. The South African dispatched Hrithik Shokeen for a maximum over midwicket to get to his half-century and reached the milestone in just 30 deliveries.
Kohli then notched up his fifty off 38 deliveries by taking a single against Archer and started the tournament on a confident note. It was his 45th IPL half-century but 50th score above 50 (5 centuries, 45 half-centuries).
Captain du Plessis was dismissed for 73 in 14.5 overs and Dinesh Karthik (0) too joined him in the dugout soon after. But Glenn Maxwell played a cameo of 12* off 3 and entertained the crowd a little.
In the end, Kohli finished it off in style with a maximum against Arshad Khan and gave a perfect gift to RCB fans on their return to the venue after four years.
Earlier in the day, after being put in to bat first Mumbai Indians had a troubled start as Ishan Kishan, Cameron Green and Rohit Sharma fell cheaply inside the powerplay. Later, Suryakumar Yadav and Tim David also joined them early in the dugout.
However, young Tilak Varma notched up a fine half-century to help his team post a respectable total on the board. The talented left-handed batter scored 84 off 46 deliveries and his innings was laced with 9 fours and 4 sixes.