Delhi Capitals rout Mumbai Indians by six wickets
Shikhar Dhawan (45 runs off 42 balls) played a steady hand for the Delhi Capitals after leg-spinner Amit Mishra scalped four to restrict the Mumbai Indians to 137/9, the lowest total in the Indian Premier League 2021 in Chennai tonight.
Delhi played sensibly as Dhawan and Steven Smith (33 off 29) put together 53 runs (48 balls) for the second wicket. After that, there were not many alarms.
Earlier, Mumbai elected to bat and lost Quinton de Kock very early. That setback was put behind when Rohit Sharma (44 off 30 balls) and Suryakumar Yadav (25 off 15) strung together a stand of 58 in 29 balls. But after Yadav departed in the seventh over, Mumbai slumped from 67/2 to 86/6 as Mishra wreaked havoc. Mumbai never recovered.
The Delhi batsmen closed out the match with ease. It was their first win in six games against Mumbai.
Delhi chase Mumbai’s modest target of 138
The Delhi Capitals restricted defending champions Mumbai Indians to 137/9, the lowest total in the Indian Premier League 2021 in Chennai tonight. Leg-spinner Amit Mishra (4-24) spearheaded the Delhi attack that brought more misery to the misfiring Mumbai batting.
Electing to bat first, Mumbai lost Quinton de Kock very early. That setback was put behind when Rohit Sharma (44 off 30 balls) and Suryakumar Yadav (25 off 15) strung together a stand of 58 in 29 balls. But after Yadav departed in the seventh over, Mumbai slumped from 67/2 to 86/6. Mishra plotted the downfall with wickets of Sharma, Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard and Ishan Kishan as Mumbai scraped through the rest of the overs.
Can Delhi chase it down? Mumbai have good spinners, and Rahul Chahar has been in good form. Maybe Mumbai can pull another rabbit out of their hat. But if Delhi bat sensibly, the total is not beyond them.
Defending champions Mumbai Indians and runners-up Delhi Capitals renew their rivalry at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. Mumbai are at an advantage in the Indian Premier League 2021, having played all their three matches at Chepauk. In contrast, Delhi’s three games were at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, so their batsmen will take time to adapt to the slow surface, especially since their stroke players love the ball coming on to the bat.
That shouldn’t worry Rishabh Pant’s Delhi too much as they have a good set of bowlers who can thrive in most conditions. And off-break bowler Ravichandran Ashwin would certainly be looking towards his homecoming in Chennai.
The depth of talent in the Delhi ranks doesn’t ruffle Mumbai. Rohit Sharma’s side too boast an incredible array of skilful players, but they would be worried about the lack of form of the batsmen. Barring Suryakumar Yadav, no one else has been able to dominate the bowling. But then, Mumbai always find a way to win, and five IPL titles bear testimony. Today too wouldn’t be different.
