Although one team is the most successful team in Indian Premier League (IPL) history with five titles, a.k.a. Mumbai Indians (MI), and the other is yet to taste glory, a.k.a. Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB, they have provided some great entertainment over the years.
The two teams have formed a unique rivalry over the years and have produced some of the most befitting displays that make what the IPL is today.
Overall, the two teams have locked horns against each other 31 times, with MI winning this fixture 17 times and RCB winning 14 times.
MORE: Bet on Tuesday's MI vs RCB clash here
These two sides met earlier this season at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, where the hosts registered a rather comfortable eight-wicket win over the five-time champions.
As these two teams enter the battlefield once again on Tuesday, let's take a look at the three most thrilling MI vs RCB games in IPL history.
Three most thrilling matches played between MI and RCB
- IPL 2013, league stage: In their first game of the 2013 edition of April 4, 2013, RCB welcomed MI at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. Riding on Chris Gayle's unbeaten 92 off 58 balls, the hosts posted a decent total of 156 on the board. In reply, MI got off to a steady start thanks to a 52-run partnership between Ricky Ponting and Sachin Tendulkar. However, RCB bowlers managed to apply the brakes during the middle overs and reduced MI to 88-3 after 13.4 overs by dismissing Rohit Sharma. However, Dinesh Karthik played a crucial knock of 60 runs off just 37 deliveries to bring MI back into the game. With 9 runs needed off the last 5 balls, MI lost Karthik and Rayudu to successive deliveries. Kieron Pollard came on strike when Harbhajan Singh took a single, with MI now needing 8 off 2. The West Indies power-hitter smashed the penultimate ball for a boundary to reduce the equation to 4 runs off the final delivery, but could only manage to get one run off the final ball as Vinay Kumar executed the yorker to perfection to hand RCB a nail-biting two-run win.
- IPL 2020, league stage: The fact that this game went right down to the wire and almost finished in arguably the greatest run chase in IPL history is enough to tell you how thrilling this encounter was. Batting first, RCB posted a total of 201 on the board, thanks to some immaculate death overs batting by Ab de Villiers and Shivam Dube. In reply, MI got to a horrible start as they were reeling at 35-3 at the end of the powerplay. They needed 80 runs in the last four overs. Even with Ishan Kishan and Kieron Pollard at the crease, achieving the target appeared seemingly improbable. However, the duo scored 79 runs in the last four overs to take the game to the Super Over. Batting first, MI could only score seven runs. Jasprit Bumrah took the game to the final delivery of the Super Over, but defending eight runs against the likes of Virat Kohli and ABD was going to be a Herculean task for even one of the best bowlers around as RCB pulled off a nail-biting victory.
- IPL 2021, league stage: MI and RCB clashed against each other at the MA Chidambaram Stadium for their opening game of the season. After winning the toss, RCB put MI in to bat first. The then-defending champions managed to post 159 on the board. In reply, RCB were reduced to 122-6 after 16.3 overs when they lost Dan Christian to Jasprit Bumrah. However, ABD was still at the crease. In the last over, RCB needed seven runs. It was South African youngster Marco Jansen against one of South Africa's all-time greats, AB de Villiers. When 3 runs were needed off 3 balls, ABD was run out at the striker's end in a bid to keep his striker. With 2 now needed off 2 balls and no recognisable batsman at the crease, tailenders Mohammed Siraj and Harshal Patel managed to get a run each to seal a last-ball win
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