Brief Scores: Delhi Capitals 162/4 in 20 overs (Shikhar Dhawan 69*, Shreyas Iyer 42; Krunal Pandya 2-26)
lost to
Mumbai Indians 166/5 in 19.4 overs (Suryakumar Yadav 53, Quinton de Kock 53; Kagiso Rabada 2-28) by 5 wickets.
Mumbai Indians hinged on theatrical fifties from Suryakumar Yadav and Quinton de Kock to gun down an innocuous 163 against Delhi Capitals in the 27th game of the Indian Premier League. The defending champions usurped DC to the summit with ten points in seven games in what was a rather lopsided encounter at Abu Dhabi on Sunday, October 11.
Delhi hold the aces despite Quinny blow
De Kock channelized his silken belligerence after Rohit Sharma fell prey to Axar Patel's Midas touch, dragging a half-hearted slog to cow corner. Besides pinning Ravichandran Ashwin to the mat, he salivated at the very glimpse of anything marginally short of length from the pace cartel, uncorking his trademark pick-ups over fine leg to swag a 33-ball half-century.
Resurging for a second burst, Ashwin gobbled a straightforward return catch to present Suryakumar Yadav a lease of life, albeit de Kock top-edging a sweep to deep backward square the next ball balanced the equation for good measure. DC had a nice little opportunity forthwith to grab the match by the collar, though Ajinkya Rahane inflicting a direct hit at the wrong end resulted in Ishan Kishan surviving to see the face of another delivery.
Surya arrives to the party
Yadav stayed the course alright, kneeling down on his haunches to smack Patel for consecutive fours before unravelling his version of the scoop-flick off Kagiso Rabada to earn fifty. It looked as if MI would rollick to a plain-sailing triumph at that stage, but DC had a few harsh words in store. Rabada shut the lid on Yadav's fun as a back-peddling Shreyas Iyer pouched his ugly swat. Hardik Pandya nicking behind for a silver duck off Marcus Stoinis lent its fair share of drama to the topsy-turvy state of affairs. It was a case of one shot too many for Kishan, who crammed a slash down sweeper cover's throat to walk back for a quickfire 28.
Anrich Nortje held his nerve to yield a miserly penultimate over as the requirement lurched to 7 off the final. Thoughts of a potential nail-biter would have barely crossed the mind when Stoinis extended some down-leg garbage first up, as Krunal Pandya helped himself to a no-sweat boundary. The winning runs too blazed from his willow, nudging MI to the familiar territories of the apex.
Debutant Rahane flatters to deceive
Ajinkya Rahane finally got a piece of the action as Rishabh Pant missed out due to a niggle. Alex Carey had to naturally fill in the boots of the wicketkeeper, with Shimron Hetmyer warming the bench. And the need for Rahane's composure arose rather early as the absence of footwork saw Prithvi Shaw chipping Trent Boult's half-volley to cover. The veteran did show a glimpse of his quality in a couple of handsy square drives but Krunal Pandya's introduction quashed any notions of a fairytale debut. The skiddier trajectory worked wonders as Rahane failed to connect his across-the-line tuck, nabbed plumb for a run-a-ball 15.
DC punch below their weight
Enforcers Shikhar Dhawan and Shreyas Iyer then hustled a vibrant 85-run partnership to keep MI at bay. Pinching ones, rotating the strike, sprinting like the wind, dispatching the odd loosener. There was a concerted tempo to their alliance even if the boundaries weren't exactly flowing.
However, just when the batsmen were rolling up their sleeves to wreak havoc, left-arm Krunal sent Iyer packing courtesy a tender short-arm jab. Dhawan obtaining his fifty coincided with Marcus Stoinis running himself out in the quest of a non-existent double. The ramifications of the in-form finisher's premature exit can be gauged from the fact that DC condensed a skimp 35 runs in the last four, despite a well-set Dhawan carrying his bat through to march off unbeaten on 69.
What's in store next?
Silly mistakes jeopardized Delhi Capitals a great deal tonight, and they'd eye rectification in their next tussle against Rajasthan Royals on Wednesday, October 14. Mumbai Indians, the newly crowned table-toppers, have four days to rest on their laurels before they engage into conflict with Kolkata Knight Riders on Friday, October 16.
Powered by Froala Editor