The Delhi Daredevils made it three wins in three matches – for the first time since April 2014 – when they defeated the Mumbai Indians by 10 runs at the Feroz Shah Kotla Ground on Saturday.
After posting 164-4 on a slow surface, the hosts restricted the defending champions to 154-7. MI needed 32 runs of the last two overs, but Zaheer Khan bowled a fantastic 19th over in which he dismissed Kieron Pollard, after which Chris Morris bowled an outstanding last over – in which the MI captain was involved in a collision that resulted in him being run out – to deny the visitors.
MI began their run-chase in style; Rohit Sharma started on over-drive mode, putting away the first delivery of the chase for a boundary and then picking up a second boundary off the final delivery of the first over. He found the fence thrice in Pawan Negi’s first over – third over of the innings – to get his team off to a roaring start. He batted right through to the final over when he was involved in a collision with Hardik Pandya, while attempting a second run, and was run out with Quinton de Kock putting the stumps down at the striker’s end. Rohit was dismissed for a brilliantly compiled 65 – studded with plenty of classy strokes.
After losing Parthiv Patel early in the run-chase, Rohit and Ambati Rayudu (25) steadied the innings with a 53-run partnership. The MI skipper then played second-fiddle in the third wicket partnership with Krunal Pandya (36 from 17 balls) which was worth 41 runs; the elder of the Pandya brothers threw caution to the winds along with playing delicate strokes. Krunal was dismissed in the 13th over when he backed up too far and couldn’t beat a throw from the bowler Zaheer Khan, who was alert to a run out opportunity.
The hosts tightened the run flow thereafter with Mishra getting rid of Jos Buttler and Imran Tahir bowling a tight 16th over. Kieron Pollard struggled to get the ball away, batting seven dot deliveries – this despite the required run rate already placed at ten and climbing upwards rapidly – before he was dismissed off the last ball of the 19th over.
With 21 runs to score off the final over, Rohit set the cat among the pigeons when he hit the second ball over the long-on boundary. But DD took the opportunity to run-out the MI captain off the following delivery and conceded only two runs off the following three deliveries to deny the visitors.
Barring Pawan Negi, the other DD bowlers had a good day. Mishra was the pick of the lot; the leg-spinner bowled two perfect googlies to outclass Rayudu and Buttler. Morris (1-27) bowled two outstanding overs early on, conceding only seven runs, before returning to finish the job. Zaheer Khan (1-30) bowled ten dot balls in his four-over spell, while Imran Tahir – brought into the XI in place of Carlos Brathwaite – had no wickets to show for his good work.
Earlier in the evening, after being put in to bat, the home side got off to a disastrous start, losing Quinton de Kock in the second over. Shreyas Iyer took his time to get going; but he failed to cash in when he attempted to go after Hardik Pandya but miscued the hit and was dismissed for 19.48 for 2 became 54 for 3 soon after when Karun Nair, who got off the mark with a reverse sweep, holed out to the man on the boundary playing the conventional sweep. It need a 71-run association between Sanju Samson, who came in to bat at number three, and JP Duminy to take the innings to a respectable total.
Sanju kept himself busy accumulating runs while picking up the occasional boundary. He on-drove Jasprit Bumrah, hit Harbhajan Singh for a six over long-on, swept well and even flat-batted McClenaghan over long-on. The young lad brought up his fifth IPL half-century – three of which have been against MI – off 40 balls. He was dismissed in the 17th over when he couldn’t time a low full toss from McClenaghan and found Tim Southee at long-off; he made 60 from 48 balls.Duminy, who walked in to bat in the ninth over, began with nine singles before hitting a Kieron Pollard delivery for a six over long-on. In the final stretch of the innings, the left-hander accelerated, scoring 30 from 15 balls while picking up three boundaries and a six. He remained unbeaten on 49, made from 31 balls, as the hosts finished at 164-4.
For the visitors, the left-arm spinner Krunal Pandya was the most economical bowler, conceding only 25 runs in his four overs. McClenaghan bowled 13 dot balls in his spell of 4-0-31-2 and took the Purple Cap for becoming the top wicket-taker in the league. Hardik Pandya (1-7), who was involved in a collision in the outfield, and Harbhajan Singh (1-24) were the other wicket-takers for MI.Brief Scores
Delhi Daredevils 164-4 in 20.0 Overs (Sanju Samson 60, JP Duminy 49*, Mitchell McClenaghan 2-31).
Mumbai Indians 154-7 in 20.0 Overs (Rohit Sharma 65, Krunal Pandya 36, Amit Mishra 2-24)
Man of the Match: Sanju Samson, for his 48-ball 60.
