With Jake Fraser-McGurk's blistering innings of 84 runs off just 27 balls, bolstered by crucial contributions from other batters, Delhi Capitals (DC) clinched their 5th victory of the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) as they beat Mumbai Indians (MI) by 10 runs the 43rd match of on Saturday, 27 April at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi.
In pursuit of a daunting target of 258 runs, the Mumbai Indians batters displayed resilience but could only muster a total of 247/9 by the end of their 20 overs. This loss marked Mumbai's sixth defeat in the tournament.
Hardik Steadied MI's Ship
The visitors suffered an early setback as their opener Rohit Sharma departed after a brief stint at the crease, managing only 8 runs from 8 balls off Khaleel Ahmed's delivery in the 4th over. Soon after, Mukesh Kumar struck to claim the wicket of Ishan Kishan, who scored 20 runs off 14 balls. Khaleel Ahmed returned in the last over of the powerplay to dismiss Suryakumar Yadav for 26 runs off 13 balls, marking Mumbai Indians' third blow.
At the end of powerplay, MI's scorecard read 65/3.
Skipper Hardik Pandya then steadied the innings, partnering with Tilak Varma to forge a 71-run partnership off 39 balls. However, their momentum was disrupted by Rasikh Salam, who quickly grabbed two wickets.
Salam first dismissed Hardik on the third ball of the 13th over, followed by Nehal Wadhera's wicket a ball later. Hardik contributed 46 runs from 24 balls, while Wadhera managed just 4 runs from 2 balls before returning to the pavilion.
The Tilak Varma-Tim David Run-Stand
Meanwhile, Tilak Varma reached his half-century in just 25 balls during the 16th over of the chase. Mumbai Indians (MI) reached the milestone of 200 runs on the first delivery of the 18th over, courtesy of a towering six by Tim David off Mukesh Kumar's delivery.
Tim then followed it up with a boundary and another maximum only to on the very next delivery lost his wicket LBW. He departed the crease after contributing 37 runs off 17 balls, having stitched a rapid 70-run partnership off just 28 balls with Tilak Varma for the visiting team.
Rasikh Salam then took the ball in the penultimate over of the game and nabbed his third wicket of the evening as he removed Mohammad Nabi off just 7 runs off 4 balls. Entering the final over with 25 runs needed for victory, Mumbai Indians (MI) suffered a setback as Tilak Varma was run out on the first ball. Despite Varma's resilient innings of 63 runs off 32 balls, MI couldn't secure the win.
With Luke Wood and Piyush Chawla at the crease and 16 runs required from just 3 balls, the pressure mounted. However, the duo managed only 5 runs, with Chawla also losing his wicket on the final delivery. Consequently, the visitors fell short by 10 runs.
The Fraser-McGurk Show
Earlier, opener Jake Fraser-McGurk continued his good showing by slamming a sensational 84 while Tristan Stubbs smashed an unbeaten 48 to carry Delhi Capitals to a mammoth 257/4.
In what was another day of a 250+ score recorded in IPL 2024, Fraser-McGurk tore into the MI bowling attack by hitting eleven fours and six sixes at a strike rate of 311.11. Supporting him was Stubbs hitting six fours and two sixes in his late flurry to give DC a good chance to get another win at their original home ground.
Abishek Porel, Shai Hope and captain Rishabh Pant chipped in with sizeable contributions in another run-fest at the venue as DC hit 17 maximums in what is also their highest-ever score in the IPL. For MI, barring Jasprit Bumrah (1-35) and Mohammad Nabi (1-20), the rest of the bowlers were taken to the cleaners by DC’s solid batters.
DC's Attack Continued
Fraser-McGurk’s fun came to an end when he was cramped for room on a heave against Chawla and gave a simple catch to mid-wicket, falling for 27-ball 84.
After Porel was stumped off Nabi in the tenth over, MI felt they would become successful in applying brakes on DC’s innings. But Shai Hope had other ideas, smacking five delightful sixes before flicking straight to deep mid-wicket off Luke Wood to fall for a 17-ball 41.
Pant continued DC’s attacking tempo by heaving and whipping Thushara for four and six respectively, before pulling Chawla for a boundary and flicking Bumrah off his wrists for six, before pulling a slower bouncer to deep backward square leg, making it the seventh time he fell to Bumrah in T20s.
Tristan Stubbs' Finishing Touches
From the other end, after driving a Thushara full-toss for four, Stubbs greeted Luke Wood with consecutive scoops for boundaries. He then brought out the reverse scoop on successive occasions to pick a six and four respectively.
Stubbs would end the 18th over by pulling back-to-back for boundaries off slower balls as 26 runs came off it. He and Axar Patel took a pulled six each off Thushara in the final over to take DC past 250.
With inputs from IANS.
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