Mumbai Indians stayed alive in the race for the playoffs as they defeated the Royal Challengers Bangalore by six wickets at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Wednesday. After putting Bangalore in to bat, Mumbai chased down Bangalore's 151 with eight deliveries in hand.
Bangalore's explosive top order of Virat Kohli, Chris Gayle and AB de Villiers fell cheaply as they found themselves stuttering at 60/3. However, Lokesh Rahul saved the day, piecing together a well-made unbeaten 53-ball 68 to take Bangalore to a respectable 151/4. Sachin Baby also provided some fireworks at the end, finishing with 25 off just 13 balls.
Mumbai Indians' chase hinged on Rohit Sharma and he looked set to take them home, getting off to a good start. But Bangalore struck at the right time with Varun Aaron dismissing him for a 24-ball 25 and kept on taking wickets at regular intervals. Ambati Rayudu tried to steer the chase, but was dismissed for a 47-ball 44 after a fantastic catch from AB De Villiers with Mumbai still requiring 54 off 29 balls. Kieron Pollard and Jos Butter then combined for some big-hitting to take the Indians home. Pollard finished on a 19-ball 35, while Buttler remained unbeaten on 29 off just 11 balls.
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