Mumbai Indians managed to clinch their fifth IPL title when they got the better of Delhi Capitals in a one-sided encounter on November 10 in Dubai. The Mumbai bowlers deserve all the credit for restricting Delhi to just 156 for 7 in 20 overs after the team had opted to bat first. Rohit Sharma then led the charge with the bat to successfully defend the IPL crown.
Earlier, DC’s Shreyas Iyer chose to bat first – a ploy that had worked wonders in Qualifier 2. However, the side would not have anticipated Trent Boult’s lethal spell with the new ball, that left them reeling at 21 for 3. He struck in the first over of the game as he dismissed Marcus Stoinis – last game’s hero – which was only the eighth time this season that the Kiwi pacer had picked up a wicket in his first over. The dismissal opened the windows as Ajinkya Rahane and Shikhar Dhawan lost their wickets as well – with Dhawan falling to Jayant Yadav and Rahane becoming Boult’s second victim.
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However, the quick wickets bought Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant – the two under-performing Indians this season – at the crease, and the duo displayed glimpses of their talent with a 96-run stand. They were particularly harsh on Krunal Pandya, who constantly tossed the ball up, and Kieron Pollard, who looked under-par and unthreatening with his pace variations.
Mumbai, who were looking well on course for a score of around 180, however, ended with just 157 on the board as the Mumbai pacers used slow bouncers to pick up quick wickets. They got Shimron Hetmyer and Axar Patel in quick succession, and despite the best efforts of Iyer, who was unbeaten on 65 off 50 – the team could just manage 38 in the last 5 overs with the loss of three wickets.
In reply, Mumbai began on a strong and determined note in the run chase as Rohit Sharma and Quinton de Kock made their intentions clear. Rohit struck a six off Ravi Ashwin in the first over, before De Kock smashed his South African teammate Kagiso Rabada for 18 runs in his first over. Anrich Nortje too was ineffective as he erred in his lengths against Rohit, who looked in sublime touch.
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Though Marcus Stoinis struck off his first ball and sent de Kock back, Suryakumar Yadav and then Ishan Kishan ensured that there were no major hiccups.
Though Delhi picked up the wickets of Suryakumar, Pollard, and Hardik Pandya soon after, the target was never going to be enough for the side who had ended the league stages with nine wins from 14 games.
Brief Scores: Delhi Capitals 156/7 in 20 overs (Shreyas Iyer 65*, Rishabh Pant 56; Trent Boult 3-30, Nathan Coulter-Nile 2-29) lost to Mumbai Indians 157/5 in 18.4 overs (Rohit Sharma 68, Ishan Kishan 33*; Anrich Nortje 2-25) by 5 wickets.