Kieron Pollard and Mitchell Starc heated things up a little in the middle with the Mumbai Indians coming away with a comfortable victory over the Royal Challengers Bangalore in a charged-up IPL 2014 contest at the Wankhede Stadium.
The Mumbai Indians, after being asked to bat first, put on 187 for five in their 20 overs, with Pollard, who had a spat with RCB bowler Starc in the field, and Rohit Sharma scoring big runs.
In reply, RCB got off to a quick start, but failed to maintain the momentum, eventually falling 19 runs short to finish on 168 for eight.
"It was a very gettable total but we should have made smarter decisions," a disappointed RCB captain Kohli said. "We had a dream start but we couldn't capitalise. One more partnership would have done it but weren't able to do it.
"At this stage, every point is vital and everyone wants to do well. It is important how you move on from a loss, we were short by 19 runs and if we had applied ourselves better, we could have made it home. However, we know we have the men who can do it and we can take plenty of positives from tonight."
Rohit Sharma, who was the man of the match as well for his half-century in the first innings, was understandably ecstatic with his team's performance, with everyone putting their hands up in a complete victory.
"This is easily the best game we have played this season," Rohit said at the presentation ceremony. "We probably did everything right, straight from ball one. We batted, bowled and fielded well -- we took some great catches tonight -- so full credit to the boys.
"I am very proud of our bowling unit. It wasn't easy for them, there is always some dew around at the end of the innings at the Wankhede and they dealt with it superbly."
"It was also important for me to step up and I'm glad I played an important knock. We're keeping our heads up. We need to be positive. Next game against CSK is also very important."
Watch the highlights of the MI vs RCB match HERE, HERE, HERE or HERE.
