• Mumbai Indians finally snap their losing streak with a five-wicket victory

Superstar cricketer Virat Kohli struck form with his first half-century of this Indian Premier League season yesterday, but failed to inspire Royal Challengers Bangalore who slipped to their third straight loss.
After a string of low scores including two golden ducks, Kohli hit 58 off 53 balls to guide Bangalore to 170 for six against Gujarat Titans at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium.
Gujarat were in trouble at 95-4 in 12.5 overs when David Miller (39) and Rahul Tewatia (43) put on an unbeaten stand of 79 to power their team home with three balls and six wickets to spare.
The left-hand batting pair took on the Bangalore bowlers with a flurry of boundaries and Tewatia, called ice-man by the commentators for his finishing abilities, hit the winning six.
Gujarat, one of the two new teams to join the world’s most valuable cricket tournament, consolidated their position at the top of the 10-team table with eight wins off nine matches.
“We started well with the ball but they played under pressure really well as they are in the tournament,” Bangalore skipper Faf du Plessis said after the loss.

Suryakumar helps Mumbai to first win
India’s Suryakumar Yadav made 51 as IPL heavyweights Mumbai Indians finally won their first match in nine attempts this season with a five-wicket victory over Rajasthan Royals yesterday.
Chasing 159 to win, Mumbai relied on an 81-run third-wicket stand between Suryakumar (51) and Tilak Varma (35) to achieve their target with four balls to spare at DY Patil Stadium.
Suryakumar and Varma fell in the space of three balls and Kieron Pollard was out for 10 in the final over as Royals threatened to snatch victory.
But Singapore batter Tim David smashed 20 off nine balls and Daniel Sams hit the winning six.
Rohit Sharma’s Mumbai, the richest and most successful side in Indian Premier League history with five titles, bounced back from a record eight losses but stay bottom of the 10-team table.
In-form Jos Buttler smashed 67 to guide Royals to 158-6 but the total was not enough for the team who paid tribute to their first captain and late Australian hero Shane Warne in the game.
Royals, who won the inaugural IPL in 2008 under Warne, had “SW23” printed on their players’ collars and both teams stood in line for a minute’s applause at the start of the match.

Brief scores
Royal Challengers Bangalore 170/6 (Virat Kohli 58; Pradeep Sangwan 2 for 19) lost to Gujarat Titans 174/4 (Rahul Tewatia 43*; Shahbaz Ahmed 2 for 26) by 6 wickets (with 3 balls remaining)
Rajasthan Royals 158/6 (Jos Buttler 67; Riley Meredith 2 for 24) lost to Mumbai Indians 161/5 (Suryakumar Yadav 51; Ravichandran Ashwin 1 for 21) by 5 wickets (with 4 balls remaining)