Mumbai Indians secured their first points in the IPL 2023 with a thrilling six-wicket victory over Delhi Capitals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Tuesday. Led by skipper Rohit Sharma's vintage knock of 65 off just 45 balls, Mumbai chased down Delhi's total of 159 on the last ball of the match.
Rohit produced a blazing start, hitting two fours and a six in a 14-run opening over. He was well supported by Ishan Kishan, who smashed three boundaries through the off-side. Mumbai finished the power-play with 68 for no loss.
The opening partnership came to an end when Ishan was run-out at the non-striker's end in the eighth over. But Rohit continued to dominate, producing the shot of the match by pulling Anrich Nortje high over deep mid-wicket for six in the ninth over, before getting his fifty in 29 balls.
Tilak Varma added some firepower in the middle overs, hitting eye-catchy sixes over deep mid-wicket and extra cover. But Mumbai suffered a setback when Varma was caught at deep mid-wicket and Suryakumar Yadav was dismissed for a golden duck in the same over.
With 18 needed off nine balls, Cameron Green and Tim David slogged Mustafizur Rahman for a six each over deep mid-wicket and long-on, as 15 runs came off the 19th over. David was dropped by Mukesh Kumar in the final over and after Delhi reversed an on-field wide call, two runs were needed off the final ball.
David made a desperate dive for the second run and despite Abhishek Porel taking off the bails, Mumbai were able to secure a nail-biting victory. Delhi Capitals, on the other hand, faced their fourth consecutive loss of the tournament.
Rohit's knock was particularly significant as it was his first half-century in the IPL after 25 innings. The victory will boost Mumbai's confidence as they look to defend their title for the sixth time.
Brief Scores: Delhi Capitals 172 in 19.4 overs (Axar Patel 54, David Warner 51; Piyush Chawla 3/22, Jason Behrendorff 3/23) lost to Mumbai Indians 173/4 in 20 overs (Rohit Sharma 65, Tilak Varma 41; Mukesh Kumar 2/30, Mustafizur Rahman 1/38) by six wickets