Home stretch: Tim David dived desperately to complete the second run off the final delivery off the match as Mumbai Indians finally opened its account in IPL 2023 with a six-wicket win and condemned Delhi Capitals to its fourth straight defeat. David came on as Impact sub for Riley Meredith after the fall of Suryakumar Yadav and finished the job for his team.
Death stare: Anrich Nortje almost successfully defended five runs off the last over by nailing his yorkers with pinpoint accuracy. If not for a dropped catch off the second ball of the over and a sloppy throw from David Warner off the last ball, Nortje could have pulled off a miraculous win for Delhi.
Horror run: Suryakumar Yadav’s travails continued as he fell for a fourth golden duck in the last last six innings. He flicked a waist-high delivery straight to the fine-leg fielder immediately after the dismissal of Tilak Varma.
One for the future: The 20-year-old gave a sublime exhibition of his precocious talent with a vital 29-ball 41 which ensured Mumbai Indians didn’t lose the plot after the dismissal of Ishan Kishan. After taking some time to settle in, Tilak laid into Mukesh Kumar with a four and two sixes in three balls before being dismissed in the same over.
Finding form: Rohit Sharma showed glimpses of his best with a 29-ball half-century, his first since April 2021. The skipper’s quickfire 71-run opening stand with Ishan Kishan laid the platform for Mumbai’s chase.
Breathing fire: Aussie pacer Jason Behrendorff bowled a sensational 19th over, claiming three wickets and conceding just one run as Delhi Capitals lost its last five wickets for just seven runs. The left-arm pacer ended with three for 23 as Capitals were restricted to 172.
Leading the way: Axar Patel, coming in at No. 7, struck a 22-ball fifty, his first in the Indian Premier League. The left-hander was the aggressor in a 67-run stand off 35 balls with David Warner, who contributed just nine runs to the partnership. The all-rounder’s bludgeoning knock was key in propelling Delhi to a serviceable 172.
Frustrating knock: David Warner’s 43-ball half-century didn’t really help Delhi Capitals’ cause. The skipper failed to provide any momentum to the innings despite staying at the crease till the 19th over. The otherwise explosive opener has scored three fifties in four matches and is second in the race for the Orange Cap, but his strike rate of 114.83 isn’t something the Aussie will be proud of.
Winding back the years: It’s been more than 10 years since Piyush Chawla last represented India and it seemed like the end of the road for the leg-spinner after he went unsold in the IPL 2022 auction. However, the 34-year-old showed he still had fire in his belly by claiming three wickets for just 22 runs in four overs to rattle Delhi’s middle-order.
Seeing the funny side of things: Winless in the IPL 2023, David Warner of Delhi Capitals and Rohit Sharma of Mumbai Indians still had reason to smile at the toss. Rohit called it right and elected to bowl after Mumbai lost its first two games batting first.
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