Record title-holders Mumbai Indians extended their dubious distinction of losing their opening match of the Indian Premier League season to ten seasons now, after their defeat to Delhi Capitals. The Mumbai Indians, who were put in to bat by the Delhi skipper, rode on Ishan Kishan’s brilliant 81, as they posted a par score of 177 in their quota of 20 overs.
MI captain Rohit Sharma also got some runs at the top of the order for the five-time champions, a positive sign for the Indians. Delhi’s middle-order turned around an almost lost cause as Axar Patel and Lalit Yadav added 75 runs in just 32 balls to give Delhi a huge win in their first match of the season.
DC, who were struggling with their overseas players’ availability, were forced to play just two foreigners, in Tim Seifert and Rovman Powell. MI were looking quite a lot different, and with talisman Suryakumar Yadav ruled out for the fame, Tilak Verma and Anmolpreet Singh were given opportunities.
Rohit and Kishan started off very well in the powerplay, as both batsmen played some shots early on in the innings. The skipper was looking ominous in the middle for the Mumbai Indians before the returning Kuldeep Yadav got rid of the Indian captain. Anmolpreet Singh could not survive for long and was also dismissed by Yadav, who was in solid form.
Tilak Verma showed glimpses of why the Mumbai Indians were excited by his talent, and even though he could only manage a decent cameo, it will probably be Anmolpreet who will make way for Suryakumar Yadav when he returns.
Ishan Kishan then broke loose, as he smashed boundaries all over the part. Power-hitting specialist Tim David played a couple of goof shots before his own dismissal. Kishan’s brilliance guided the Mumbai innings to 177.
Seifert looked spectacular at the top of the innings, getting a few classy boundaries, before falling prey to a superb Murugan Ashwin googly. Mandeep Singh and Rishabh Pant both departed for a combined one run, while Prithvi Shaw was looking to rebuild the innings.
However, a short-pitched delivery on off stump spelt the end for Shaw, bringing Powell into the crease, who also departed without troubling the scorers. All-rounder Shardul Thakur played a brief cameo before also making it back to the pavilion, leaving the game at a crucial juncture.
Patel and Lalit were assaulting the Indians bowlers and were completely decimating anything that came in their path. Sams and Bumrah had a forgettable day at the office as both bowlers went for a hammering, as the Delhi all-rounders wrapped up the 178-run chase with ten balls to spare. Kuldeep picked up the man of the match award for his scintillating performance in the first innings, where he picked up figures of 3/18.
Brief scores
Delhi Capitals 179/6 (Lalit 48*, Axar 38*, Shaw 38, Thampi 3-35, M Ashwin 2-14) beat Mumbai Indians 177 for 5 (Kishan 81*, Rohit 41, Kuldeep 3-18, Khaleel 2-27) by four wickets
