Mumbai Indians Produced a run-chase for the ages as they successfully overhauled Royal Challengers Bangalore's total of 199 runs in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 match on Tuesday. Suryakumar Yadav once again showed why he is arguably the finest batter in T20 cricket, smashing a fiery knock of 83 runs off just 35 balls. It took Mumbai Indians less than 17 overs to complete the chase. In the process, the Rohit Sharma-led side also smashed two all-time records in the T20 league.
Most successful 200+ chases in an IPL season
Rohit's MI is the first team in the history of IPL to chase down targets of 200 runs or more thrice in a single season. Punjab Kings and Chennai Super Kings earlier held the record, having chased down 200+ targets twice each in 2018 and 2014 respectively.
Mumbai had earlier chased 200+ targets against Punjab Kings and Rajasthan Royals.
- MI in 2023 - 3
- PBKS in 2014 - 2
- CSK in 2018 - 2
Winning with the most balls to spare in a 200+ chases
It took Mumbai Indians just 16.3 overs to complete the run-chase of 200 runs, thanks to Suryakumar's heroics. With 21 balls to spare in the chase, the franchise went on to break Delhi Capitals' record to completing a run-chase of 200 runs or more in the quickest time.
Delhi had chased the target of 208 runs against Gujarat Lions in 2017 with 15 balls to spare. Second on the list were Punjab Kings who had finished the chase of 201 runs with 10 balls to spare against Kolkata Knight Riders in 2010. Now, MI have leapfrogged both.
- 21 balls: 200 by MI vs RCB Mumbai WS 2023
- 15 balls: 208 by DC vs GL Delhi 2017
- 10 balls: 201 by PBKS vs KKR Kolkata 2010
MI skipper Rohit Sharma was thrilled to see the team's performance, especially with the bat. The 36-year-old admitted that he doesn't even know what target is safe these days in the IPL.
"We restricted them to less than 200. Was a great effort, It could have been 220 or more. I have no idea what a safe score is. The last four games we have seen excess of 200 has been scored. Most of the teams are taking risks and it is coming off. The batters are taking risks and 200-plus scores are being chased. The mindset of the batters is to do something special for the team and it is coming off as well," he said.
With the win, MI have climbed to the third spot in the IPL 2023 points table.