RCB celebrations. (Photo Source: RCB/Youtube)
Royal Challengers Bangalore got their IPL 2023 campaign off to a winning start as they thumped Mumbai Indians by 8 wickets in their opening encounter at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Sunday, April 2. After being put in to bat first, Mumbai were brought to their knees by RCB’s top-notch bowling before a brilliant knock from Tilak Varma took them to a fighting total of 171/7 in the first innings.
In reply, RCB chased down the target with 22 balls to spare courtesy of a 148-run opening stand between Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis. As a result, they registered their fifth win against MI in their last six matches. Following their emphatic win, the entire RCB team celebrated the victory ecstatically in the dressing room.
In a video shared on RCB’s official Twitter account, the entire team could be seen standing together as captain Faf du Plessis taught them how to sing the team song. All the players were seen in a jovial mood as they sang their hearts out and celebrated the first victory of the season.
Watch the video here:
Coming back to the match, after opting to bowl first, RCB’s bowlers were all over Mumbai as they had them reeling at 48/4 after 8.5 overs. Seeing his side in disarray, Tilak Varma played a sensational knock of 84* off 46 balls smashing nine fours and four sixes in his innings. He first got involved in a 50-run stand with Nehal Wadhera for the fifth wicket and further added 48 runs with Arshad Khan for the eighth wicket to take Mumbai to 171/7.
Virat Kohli looked in imperious form against MI
In reply, Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli came out all guns blazing and ripped apart MI’s bowling attack as they smacked them all over the ground. They added 148 runs off 89 balls to stamp their authority over Mumbai and crush whatever little hopes they had of winning the match.
Du Plessis went on to score 73 off 43 balls while Kohli remained unbeaten on 82 off 49 balls to set up a comprehensive win for RCB. After winning their first game, RCB will look to continue their winning momentum against Kolkata Knight Riders on April 6 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.