The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) team defeated five-time champions Mumbai Indians by 18 runs in Match 20 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Sunday at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium thanks to outstanding, scorching half-centuries from Phil Salt (78) and Rajat Patidar (53), along with some excellent tight bowling.

As they pounded sixes en route to half-centuries, Salt and Patidar gave a fantastic demonstration of power-hitting, and RCB scored a tough 240/4 in their 20 overs, with Virat Kohli adding a quiet fifty.

After former captain Rohit Sharma sustained a hamstring injury and was forced to retire hurt for 19 off 13 balls, the Mumbai Indians’ attempt to break a record-high target at Wankhede fell apart. Ryan Rickelton (37) and Hardik Pandya (40) had earlier given the hopes a bit of a boost, but Sherfane Rutherford smashed nine sixes in the final few balls of the game to score an undefeated 71 off 31 balls. In the end, the Mumbai Indians were 18 runs shy of winning, as they suffered their third consecutive loss after finishing at 222/5 in 20 overs.

The Rajasthan Royals (8) and Punjab Kings (7) are now ahead of RCB, who have six points and are third in the points table after winning their third match in four games.

The game was bizarre in that it continued for a long time, with players leaving the field with injuries after requesting lengthy treatment breaks on the ground, and both teams going for review for no-balls and wides, which further extended the process, which grew boring near the conclusion.

With Ryan Rickelton beginning with a six off Jacob Duffy in the first over and Rohit Sharma scoring 50 runs for the side in the fifth, the Mumbai Indians began their chase of 241 on a high note. The five-time winners scored 62 without losing in the six overs of the power play, but the dugout wasn’t all that pleased because Rohit Sharma, the former captain, was forced to retire hurt with a hamstring ailment that was treated on the field. In the sixth over, he chose to head back to the dugout for further therapy after scoring 19 runs.

Rickelton smashed Duffy for four and six and blasted the experienced Bhuvneshwar Kumar for a six over the long-leg boundary. When he attempted to hit a Suyash Sharma googly, he only managed to top-edge it to Bhuvneshwar at short third, making him the first to fall. Rickelton was dismissed after scoring 37 runs off 22 pitches, including three fours and three sixes.

Tilak Varma (1) only faced three pitches before trying a sweep off Suyash Sharma, which resulted in a simple catch for Duffy. The Mumbai Indians’ pursuit was almost derailed by the leg-spinner’s double strike.

After beginning with a four off Impact player Rasikh Salam on the second ball he faced, Suryakumar Yadav hit Krunal Pandya for a four and then took back-to-back boundaries off Suyash Sharma in the 10th over, bringing Mumbai to 99/2 at the midway point, slightly behind RCB, who were 115 for no loss at the same moment. However, SKY was unable to hit a match-defining long innings, as he only managed to score 33 runs off 22 deliveries before hitting it directly down to Rasikh Salam at backward square leg.

Suyash Sharma’s first delivery was smashed for a six by Hardik Pandya, who then followed up with a four a few balls later. Two boundaries off Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s 11th over, followed by two fours off Suyash, kept Mumbai’s hopes alive. However, the Mumbai Indians’ pursuit seemed shaky after Rohit left the game with an injury, and Hardik’s heroics were short-lived as he misjudged Duffy to Romario Shepherd 41, leaving Mumbai needing 93 from the final five overs as MI fell to 145/4 in the fifteenth over.

Rutherford then continued the battle, hitting one four and nine huge sixes as he stayed undefeated on 71 off 36 balls, reaching his half-century in 26 balls.

Phil Salt had earlier been asked to bat first, and he came out with guns blazing as he and Virat Kohli scored 100 runs for the first wicket partnership. With Salt hitting a four and Kohli hitting a six off Trent Boult’s first over, they scored 13 runs.

Phil Salt hit a hat-trick of sixes off Mitchell Santner (first a heave over deep square leg, the next clubbed over wide long-on, and third smashed over deep square leg) after consistently scoring runs off Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, and Boult, then followed up with a four off his first four deliveries of the match, totaling 22 runs from the over.

Salt, on the other hand, continued to operate in the third gear, hitting Mayank Markande for a hat-trick of boundaries as he raced to his fifty in 25 balls, while Kohli scored at a sedate pace. Salt raced to 61 off only 27 deliveries after hitting a six in the eighth over to commemorate his 50 off Markande. After hitting a simple catch directly to Pandya at extra cover, he finally succumbed to Shardul Thakur in the eleventh over. Salt hit 78 runs on 36 deliveries, including sixes and half a dozen fours.

However, Rajat Patidar took over as the Mumbai Indians’ power-hitter, giving them no respite. Patidar began by hitting four off Thakur, then went on to hit a hat-trick of sixes off Markande in the 12th over. In the 13th over, they scored 23 runs off Thakur by hitting a six and two fours. In the 11th over, he hit a four and a six off Boult as he threatened to break the record for the quickest fifty in IPL history, reaching 44 off 11 balls.

While Kohli labored through a slow fifty off 37 balls, Patidar sped to his half-century from 16 balls, hitting Santner for a streaky four. As the RCB fell from 185/1 to 194/3 in the space of eight balls, the Mumbai Indians put on the brakes, and both Kohli and Patidar were out soon after they reached their fifties.

While Patidar fell to Santner, who tried to shank him over long-on but miscued it to Tilak Varma, Kohli ended his suffering by holing out to Suryakumar Yadav at long-on off Pandya for 50 (38 balls, 5×4, 1×6). In his 20-ball fifty-three, Patidar hit five maximums and four boundaries.

After that, things were a little quiet, but Tim David helped them reach fifty runs in the final five overs by hitting Pandya for a six off a free hit. After reaching 115/0 at the midway point and 201/3 in 17 balls, RCB was threatening to surpass 250, but David stayed undefeated on 34 off 16 balls, reached with a six off the final ball bowled by Boult.

Brief scores:
Royal Challengers Bengaluru 240/4 in 20 overs (Phil Salt 78, Rajat Patidar 53, Virat Kohli 50, Tim David 34 not out; Shardul Thakur 1-32, Hardik Pandya 1-39)
Mumbai Indians 222/5 in 20 overs (Sherfane Rutherford 71 not out, Hardik Pandya 40; Suyash Sharma 2-47, Krunal Pandya 1-26)