DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Kieron Pollard’s dry run mirrored Mumbai Indians’ form as the reigning Indian Premier League (IPL) champions lost for the third straight time since the competition’s restart a 54-run defeat to Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) here Sunday.
In a critical contest at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Mumbai failed to chase down 166. It was dismissed cheaply for 111 at the start of the penultimate over, with only Rohit Sharma (43) and Quinton de Kock (24) reaching double figures.
While they flourished, it meant Mumbai cruised to 79 for one, but their dismissals triggered an astonishing collapse which saw nine wickets tumble for 32 runs.
With previous scores of 15 and 21, Pollard made only seven before becoming one of two wickets off successive deliveries in the 17th over from seamer Harshal Patel (4-19), bowled leg stump walking too far across.
Rohit, Mumbai’s captain, struck five fours and a six in a 28-ball knock, while South African de Kock was more patient with four fours off 23 deliveries.
Leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal (3-11) and off-spinner Glenn Maxwell (2-23) combined to wreck the top order and set up RCB’s win.
Maxwell had earlier top-scored with 56 from 37 deliveries while RCB’s captain Virat Kohli belted 51 from 42 balls, and wicketkeeper Srikar Bharat hit 32 off 24 deliveries.
Devdutt Padikkal fell without scoring in the second over, but Kohli scored 68 for the second wicket with Bharat and another 51 for the third wicket with Maxwell, who faced 37 balls and counted half-dozen fours and three sixes.
RCB are third on 12 points, four behind leaders Chennai Super Kings, while Mumbai is one from the bottom on eight points in the eight-team league.
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