Du Plessis, Maxwell fifties power RCB to 199/5

Mumbai, May 9 (PTI) A fourth century stand of the season between Faf du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell took Royal Challengers Bangalore to 199 for five against Mumbai Indians in the IPL here on Tuesday.

After RCB were rocked early by Jason Behrendorff (4-0-36-3) who struck twice in the powerplay, du Plessis (65 off 41) and Maxwell (68 off 33) teamed up to expose MI’s bowling troubles once again while making the most of the perfect batting conditions at the Wankhede Stadium.

Du Plessis and Maxwell added 120 runs for the fourth wicket off just 62 balls, powering RCB’s charge after Mumbai Indians made early inroads with Virat Kohli (1) and Anuj Rawat (6) falling early.

Maxwell was in his element as he played some outstanding strokes, hitting four sixes and eight fours to record his fourth half-century this season.

On the other hand, du Plessis, dropped by Nehal Wadhera in the first over when he was yet to open his account, was equally impressive with his strokeplay, attacking fast bowlers and spinners alike to get to his sixth half-century.

Du Plessis also extended his lead at the top of the list for the highest run-getters this year, reaching 576 runs in 11 matches at an average of 64.

But to their credit, MI fought back in the second half to dismiss Maxwell, Mahipal Lomror (1) and du Plessis in quick succession, which halted RCB’s charge as they could not go beyond the 200-run mark, which at one stage looked probable.

Mumbai Indians’ bowlers did well to allow only 68 runs in the last seven overs, putting up a far improved performance with the ball.

RCB slipped from 131/2 after 13 overs to 146/5 in the 15th before Dinesh Karthik (30 off 18 balls) did well to banish his ordinary run with the bat.