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After 12 overs, Delhi Capitals, five wickets down with their entire top order gone and the target still 84 runs away (asking rate of nearly 12) were effectively out of the match. A partisan Mumbai Indians crowd was mocking at the stadium announcer every time he looked for some chorus in support of DC.
But on a sultry Sunday afternoon at Cricket Club of India’s Brabourne Stadium, in the league’s first double-header, Axar Patel (38*—17b, 2×4, 3×6), batting at No 8, snatched victory away from the five-time champions. He combined with Lalit Yadav (48—38b, 4×4, 2×6) for an unbeaten 75-run seventh wicket partnership off 30 balls to chase down 177.
With their key overseas players either away on national duty or injured, DC could field only two foreign players. Without the fire and fury of Kagiso Rabada (picked by Punjab Kings) and Anrich Nortje (injured), DC’s bowling lacked sting in the powerplay as well as in the death. Ishan Kishan, his confidence boosted after Mumbai Indians splurged ₹15.25 for him in the auction, took full toll of the bowling from ball one, smashing a 48-ball 81* (11×4, 2×6).
Having conceded 50 runs in the powerplay with Kishan going strong, Rishabh Pant needed a volunteer to apply the brakes and he came in the form of Kuldeep Yadav. The left-arm wrist spinner after bowling some tantalising deliveries, varying his speeds and lengths on Mumbai’s red-soil pitch, saw the back of Rohit Sharma first, holing out an attempted pull (41—32b), then Anmolpreet Singh (8), who skied to long-on.
Bowling three overs on the trot, Yadav’s figures read 3-0-13-2. He also went on to bowl a crucial 16th over, stifling the big man Kieron Pollard for runs and getting him caught inside the circle off a miscued pull (3—6b). That didn’t help stop the onslaught that followed. Patel, Shardul Thakur and Khaleel Ahmed were DC’s death-over designates. MI blazed away led by Kishan, getting 54 runs in the final 4 overs.
In reply, two impact overs from MI resulted in double-strikes from their new picks. Leg-spinner Murugan Ashwin’s fourth over accounted for Tim Seifert (21) and Mandeep Singh (0) and pacer Basil Thampi in the 10th over sent back Prithvi Shaw (38—24) and Rovman Powell (0). In between left-arm Tymal Mills got Pant caught at deep square-leg. Those strikes had reduced DC to 72/5 before Patel and Yadav stole the show.
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