An emphatic performance saw Mumbai Indians dispatch the woeful Delhi Capitals by 9 wickets at the Dubai International Stadium on Saturday (October 31) at the Dubai International Stadium.
This win ensured that Mumbai will finish inside the top two of the points table and thus will get two opportunities to qualify for the IPL 2020 final after already having qualified for the playoffs two days prior.
Delhi Capitals, on the other hand, lost their fourth consecutive match and are now in danger of missing out on the all-important playoff berth.
Mumbai Indians stand-in skipper Kieron Pollard won the toss and opted to field first. The decision proved unerring as Capitals’ star opener Shikhar Dhawan departed on just the third ball of the game – his second consecutive duck. He tried to play a square-cut against Trent Boult but Suryakumar Yadav took a low-diving catch.
Prithvi Shaw, brought back into the side in place of Rahane, followed him soon for 10 with Boult doing the damage yet again. Shaw tried to go for a big pull and departed after only managing a thick edge in the process.
The two early dismissals saw skipper Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant join forces in the middle with a huge job in front of them.
The two, though, failed to get going against a very tight attack from Mumbai. Mumbai’s spin duo of Krunal Pandya and Jayant Yadav gave away just 16 runs in their combine four overs.
The duo could only manage a 35-run stand from 44 balls. Iyer departed for 25 when he got stumped out to Rahul Chahar on the latter's second ball of the day.
The Capitals never really recovered after these opening wickets and choked yet again. Then, it was the turn of Jasprit Bumrah.
Bumrah was again in red-hot form. In just his second over, he removed new-man in Marcus Stoinis and the well-set Rishabh Pant to hand the reigns of the game to his side. He followed it up with the wicket of Harshal Patel in his next over and capped off a fine spell, returning with figures of 4-0-17-3.
Boult, too, finished with three wickets as the two pacers ripped the Capitals’ batting apart.
Delhi Capitals posted a meagre 110/9 on the board. The fact that Shreyas Iyer was the highest run-scorer with 25 explained the damage done by Mumbai.
Chasing jus 111 to win, Ishan Kishan and Quinton de Kock ensured that Mumbai sailed along smoothly with no mishaps. The two southpaws knitted a 68-run opening stand without taking any unnecessary risks. The South African, de Kock, was unfortunate to play one onto his own stumps against his compatriot Anrich Nortje.
Ishan Kishan then threw caution to the wind and went for his shots. He completed his third fifty of the season and took his side home with a huge six against Nortje.
Kishan remained unbeaten on 72 (off 47 balls; 4x8, 6x3). A six over sweeper cover against Rabada was the shot of the day as the youngster showcased his ability against the big names of the game. He was awarded the ‘Man of the Match’ for the enthralling knock.
