Mumbai Indians registered their 5th win of IPL 2016 to catapult to the second spot on the table after they defeated the Rising Pune Supergiants by 8 wickets. MI got their sweet revenge against RPS for the season opener defeat, with strong performances from all departments. The hitman led from the front with a knock of 85, other useful contributions were from Ambati Rayudu and Jos Buttler. Jasprit Bumrah was the best bowler for MI as they restricted RPS to 159-5. The target set was below Par, taking into consideration the last game at the MCA Stadium where GL chased more than 190 runs.

MI got off to a quick start with Rohit Sharma and Parthiv Patel going hammer and tongs behind the bowlers. Patel didn’t last long at the crease, thanks to a superb catch from Dhoni. Hitman got together with Ambati Rayudu to put a partnership of 52 runs, to stabilize the innings. Rayudu tried to take on Ashwin but perished to a well-judged catch taken by Ajinkya Rahane at the boundary line. Jos Buttler and Rohit Sharma settled in and took MI home with 9 balls to spare and with 8 wickets in hand. The innings from the skipper was a usual hitman innings and an absolute treat to watch when he plundered runs at will.

Earlier in the innings, RPS put into bat, were off to a rapid start even though they lost Ajinkya Rahane in the second over. Saurabh Tiwary was joined by Steve Smith, and they started picking boundaries early on. The two put a partnership of 84 from just 45 balls. It was a great platform for RPS to accelerate from there, but MI bowlers once again pulled the game back, by picking wickets at regular intervals and stemming the flow of runs. Tiwary played a steady innings of 57 which had 4 fours and 2 sixes. Jasprit Bumrah was the pick of the bowlers for MI with figures of 3-29. Harbhajan Singh and Mitchell McClenaghan added a solitary wicket to their column.

Both MI and RPS will now head to Vizag as their new home for the rest of the season. With RPS struggling to find rhythm and MI catching up on the lost points the tournament becomes wide open for every team!