Royal Challengers Bangalore wicketkeeper-batsman KS Bharat had a good battle against Mumbai Indians leg-spinner Rahul Chahar on Sunday at the Dubai International Stadium.
Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma won the toss, and put RCB in batting first as Jasprit Bumrah gave them an early blow by getting the wicket of Devdutt Padikkal for nought.
Bharat walked in to bat at no.3, as the wicket-keeper build a 68-run partnership stand with his skipper Virat Kohli for the second wicket. The 27-year-old Andhra Pradesh batsman scored 32 off 24 balls at the strike rate of 133.33.
KS Bharat vs Rahul Chahar
Bharat smashed two fours and two sixes each in his short stay at the crease, he smacked Chahar for a couple of sixes, the first one came in the seventh over when he dispatched the fuller delivery over the deep mid-wicket region for a six.
The interesting contest came back in the ninth over as Bharat once again slog-swept the wrist-spinner for another six and roared in excitement along with clenching his fist to celebrate that shot.
But it was Chahar who had the final laugh by getting the wicket-keeper’s wicket the very next ball after he was hit. The leg-spinner kept plenty of loop in his leg-breaker and Bharat chipped it off to Suryakumar Yadav at wide long-off as Chahar celebrated in a pleasant manner.
KS Bharat Six Video
Rahul Chahar gave an aggressive send-off to Bharat
Riding on the fifties by Kohli (51) and Glenn Maxwell (56), RCB propelled to 165/6 in the first innings. RCB pace bowler Harshal Patel picked a hat-trick to turn the game completely in his team’s favour as Mumbai Indians were bowled out for 211.
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Patel’s dismissals included all-rounder Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, and Chahar in the 17th over to ensure RCB grabbed those two important points to stay in the third position on the points table with 12 points.
This win will boost RCB”s confidence as they lost both their previous two games in the second leg of IPL 2021 but for Mumbai Indians, it means they lost their third game on the trot.