Mumbai Indians 166 of 5 (de Kock 53, Yadav 53, Rabada 2-28) beaten Capitals of Delhi 162 for 4 (Dhawan 69 *, Iyer 42, Krunal Pandya 2-26) for five windows
A tabletop clash between the Indians of Mumbai and the capitals of Delhi lasted until the last finale, but it wasn’t quite the thrilling thriller expected. Mumbai passed through the capitals through five windows, riding on excellent bowling and proactive half centuries from Quinton de Kock and Suryakumar Yadav. Both de Kock and Yadav made 53 and, although each fell somewhat against the development of the game, the Capitals, excellent bowling team that they are themselves, did not have enough to defend.
Mumbai dragged the target by 19.4 overs to trade places with the capitals on the points table.
De Kock was already driving when Yadav faced his first ball. He started in fourth place, against R Ashwin, who had a favorable showdown against De Kock coming into the game, with a six and a four. Yadav, who came into this game with a 79 * match winner against the Rajasthan Royals, made sure the momentum didn’t wane when De Kock finally fell to Ashwin. Yadav himself was caught off Kagiso Rabada with five overs remaining, but by then he had reduced the equation to nearly one run per ball. Mumbai batting depth meant that despite two more wickets, they were always in control of the chase.
The excellence of Mumbai bowlers had given their hitters a relatively easy chase. They tied the Capitals along their entrances. The “intention” has perhaps been discussed to the point of being a cliché, but the intention is exactly what the Mumbai hitters showed and what the Capitals apparently lacked. Shikhar Dhawan hit in innings for the Capitals, but was just 69 of 52.
The Capitals were also affected by the absence of two key hitters. Rishabh Pant was injured, which meant Alex Carey had to be brought in to put the gloves on, and Carey’s entry meant that Shimron Hetmyer had to sit down as well. Ajinkya Rahane got his first IPL 2020 game as a result.
Dhawan-Iyer booth gives Capitals the platform
Prithvi Shaw edged out Trent Boult to cover in the first over and Rahane’s start in the 2020 IPL didn’t go too well – Krunal Pandya caught him lbw for a run-a-ball 15. Shreyas Iyer joined Shikhar Dhawan at 24 for 2 in the fifth ended, and the duo began to build steadily.
While their initial tactics appeared to be to hit the ball safely, they punished mistakes on line and length so running speed wouldn’t stagnate. That worked to some extent, but where the Capitals felt the rush was that none of the hitters on the set were able to accelerate in the second half. They still ended up putting in a good 85 position at 10.2 overs.
When Iyer was out they were 109 of 3 in 14.4 overs and it looked like a good finish could happen with fit Marcus Stoinis coming in. He was the only hitter in the lineup who was in excellent shape to hit limits. , and although he did hit a pair during his tenure, he was exhausted in a mix-up with Dhawan, seriously affecting the Capitals’ ability to finish big.
Krunal, Bumrah in front
Left arm spinner Krunal Pandya got up as early as the fifth over, despite there being a southpaw in Dhawan in the crease and only two fielders allowed outside the circle. The trust placed in Pandya was not out of place, with Rahane out for his second ball. Pandya stuck to the lines from stump to stump, precisely aiming for a back the length of her four overs.
His spinning bowling partner, Rahul Chahar, shared the middle envelopes with Pandya and didn’t reveal anything either, dangling the ball out of both batters’ hitting goals. The control exercised by the two spinners meant that Iyer and Dhawan did not have big overs in the middle, and they also had to compete with Jasprit Bumrah.
While he didn’t pick up a wicket, Bumrah was on point with his bowling alley in the way Mumbai has come to expect almost as normal. He threw the hard laps at Dhawan, sliding on slower balls generously to deny the batter the rhythm to drive the ball away. When Carey came in after Stoinis came out, Bumrah threw all the balls at him from around the wicket, an angle the goalie-batter hasn’t had much success at when facing pacemakers.
Between them, the three threw 12 overs for 79 runs, an economy rate of 6.58. While the Capitals managed to win more runs against the other bowlers, it wasn’t enough to make up for the strangulation that Bumrah, Pandya and Chahar had caused.
De Kock, Yadav’s departure
If there was an attack in the tournament capable of defending 162 against a batting lineup like Mumbai, it was the Capitals. But unlike the Capitals hitters, de Kock and Yadav didn’t let the opposition bowlers settle into paces quickly, or at all. Both men actively sought to go onto the field and take out the bowlers using the fold.
De Kock lifted Ashwin up straight and then swept him head-on to start, then dropped Anrich Nortje with a pair of bold sixes in the last over of the power play.
One of the characteristics of his hitting was the fluidity with which the witness went from De Kock to Yadav. While de Kock was in the fold, he had the majority of the strike and also made the most of the runs. He kept finding the boundary regularly, moving in its crease to create angles.
When a well-thrown ball from Ashwin caused De Kock to miss, Yadav had faced only 11 balls. But he made sure that the spinning duo of Ashwin and Axar Patel would not control the intermediates. He used his wrists to spank Ashwin on the side of the leg regularly and swept Patel with authority.
On 15, with Rabada brought back to conjure a wicket, Yadav started with 4, 2, 6 to decisively balance the match. He was out in the last ball of it, but by then Mumbai was in safe territory.
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