Mumbai Indians are almost guaranteed of a spot in the IPL playoffs after they secured a five-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bangalore in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.
Suryakumar Yadav led the way for Mumbai with an unbeaten 79 from 43 balls to help chase down Bangalore's score of 164-5.
The result took Mumbai to eight wins and the safety mark of 16 points. Their net run rate is also a healthy +1.186, which means they should be through to the playoffs even if they lose their remaining two games.
Jasprit Bumrah earlier set the match up for Mumbai, finishing with incredible figures of 3-14 from his four overs. Bangalore opener Devdutt Padikkal (74 off 45) was the pick of the batsmen and took his team's total towards respectability. For Mumbai, seamer Trent Boult (1-40) and spinner Rahul Chahar (1-43) had off days and undid Bumrah's good work.
They nearly paid the price for it as Mumbai only managed 52 by the eighth over. But Yadav took the fight to Bangalore's camp and hit 10 fours and three sixes. He even got into a staring contest with Kohli as the chase went down to the wire.
It was a poignant moment of the match as Yadav has been overlooked for the tour of Australia despite being in peak form.
"I was looking to finish games for a long time. I worked on my game a lot during the lockdown. I have been loving the number three position, but I wanted to finish off the game, which is why I am glad with this effort," Yadav said.
