Mumbai Indians got their 2016 Indian Premier League campaign back running with an impressive six-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bangalore in a high-scoring game at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium on Wednesday. The hosts chased RCB's 170 with 12 balls to spare, taking them to only their second win of the season in five games played. For RCB, it was yet another defeat in a match in which their batsmen had put up a good total, only for the opposition to chase it down with ease.

RCB made five changes to the team that failed to defend a 190-plus total against the Delhi Daredevils – the biggest being the absence of Chris Gayle, who had flown back home for the birth of his child. After being put in to bat by Mumbai on a typical belter of a wicket at Wankhede, RCB got off to a good start.

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Mitchell McClenaghan got the wicket of KL Rahul in a bizarre fourth over of the innings – the wicket-taking delivery was preceded by two sixes and a four. The dreaded pair of Virat Kohli (33 off 30 balls) and AB de Villiers (29 off 21 balls) then got together and clobbered the Mumbai attack. They put on 59 runs in 6.3 overs before left-arm spinner Krunal Pandya got them both out in another incredible over.

From 91/1, RCB tripped to 99/4, as Jasprit Bumrah picked up another crucial wicket, that of Shane Watson. Sharma did well to rotate his bowlers in the middle overs and briefly kept a tab on the scoring. However, IPL debutant Travis Head (37 off 24 balls) soon got together with the young Sarfaraz Khan (28 off 18 balls) and got RCB back on track for a big total. The pair smashed the Mumbai bowlers with some innovative and aggressive batting, and put on 63 runs in just 5.4 overs before both were dismissed in the final over of the innings. It was enough to take RCB to a competitive, if not unassailable, 170/7 in 20 overs.

Mumbai's chase did not start well, as they lost wicketkeeper-batsman Parthiv Patel in the second over of the innings. However, Sharma (62 off 44 balls) got together with the reliable Ambati Rayudu (31 off 23 balls) and took the attack to the opposition. The pair hammered away and notched up Mumbai's highest partnership this season – 76 runs – to put their team in the driver's seat. Sharma's fall in the 13th over led to a few moments of panic for the hosts, but the big-hitting pair of Jos Buttler (28 off 14 balls) and Kieron Pollard (40 not out off 19 balls) ensured that Mumbai got home with 12 balls remaining.

Both of Mumbai's wins so far have come in games where they have chased, as has been the overall theme this season. All but one of the 14 games played so far have been won by the team batting second. With Mumbai suffering heavy defeats in the games they have batted first, skipper Rohit Sharma must be pining for a way he can manipulate the coin toss.