Mumbai Indians openers Ryan Rickelton and Rohit Sharma walked out to begin the innings, with Rickelton taking strike and the experienced Bhuvneshwar Kumar opening the bowling.
It didn’t take long for drama to unfold. Rohit got off the mark with a quick single, and Rickelton also managed a couple of sharp runs early on. But the pressure from Bhuvneshwar kept building.
On a teasing delivery outside off, Rickelton finally went for the big shot -- but couldn’t get the timing right. The ball went straight up, and Rajat Patidar made no mistake, diving forward to complete a clean catch.
A sharp start for Royal Challengers Bengaluru as Rickelton departed for just 2 off 4 balls. After the first over, MI were 4 for 1 -- a tense beginning under pressure.
Mumbai Indians saw early movement in their innings after Naman Dhir came in at No. 3 following the early wicket.
At the other end, Rohit Sharma took on Josh Hazlewood in an eventful over. He began cautiously with a defensive shot, but then nearly holed out -- the ball just cleared mid-off and raced away for four.
Rohit kept the momentum going with a flick for a couple more runs, before surviving a beaten edge on the next delivery. Then came the counterattack -- back-to-back sixes from the MI skipper, turning the over on its head.
After two overs, MI reached 22 for 1, with 18 runs coming in that second over alone, swinging the early momentum back in their favour.
