In a thrilling encounter at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, the Mumbai Indians emerged victorious over the Delhi Capitals by a margin of four wickets with just one ball to spare. The Mumbai skipper Rohit Sharma led from the front with a brilliant knock of 83 off 47 balls, ably supported by Suryakumar Yadav (24), Kieron Pollard (16), and Ishan Kishan (11). On the other hand, the Delhi bowlers struggled to contain the Mumbai batsmen and leaked runs at an alarming rate, with Avesh Khan (2-15), Marcus Stoinis (1-20), and Lalit Yadav (1-34) being the only wicket-takers.
Mumbai Indians’ Innings
Mumbai Indians’ InningsAfter winning the toss and electing to bat first, the Delhi Capitals got off to a great start, with opener Prithvi Shaw smashing 31 off 20 balls, including four fours and two sixes. However, the Mumbai bowlers made a strong comeback in the middle overs, with leg-spinner Rahul Chahar (2-33) and left-arm spinner Krunal Pandya (1-26) picking up wickets at regular intervals. At one stage, the Delhi team was struggling at 97-4 in the 14th over, but a timely cameo from Rishabh Pant (15 off 13 balls) and Shimron Hetmyer (28 off 16 balls) helped them reach a competitive total of 156-7 in their allotted 20 overs.
Delhi Capitals’ Innings
In response, the Mumbai Indians got off to a cautious start, with Quinton de Kock (6) and Chris Lynn (10) falling early to the pace of Avesh Khan. However, Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav steadied the ship with a 58-run partnership for the third wicket. Rohit was particularly severe on the Delhi spinners, smashing Amit Mishra for two sixes in an over and hitting Lalit Yadav for three consecutive fours. Even after Yadav’s dismissal, Rohit continued to dominate the bowling and reached his half-century off just 33 balls. He was eventually dismissed in the 17th over, but not before he had taken Mumbai to the brink of victory. Kieron Pollard and Ishan Kishan then finished the job with some lusty blows in the final over, as Mumbai won the match with one ball to spare.
Analysis and Outlook
The win takes Mumbai Indians to the top of the IPL 2022 points table, with four wins out of five matches. On the other hand, Delhi Capitals are languishing at the bottom of the table, with just one win from their five matches. The Delhi team needs to improve their bowling and fielding if they want to turn their fortunes around in the second half of the tournament. Mumbai, on the other hand, will be pleased with their all-round performance and will look to continue their winning streak in the upcoming matches.