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Run-outs help Mumbai steal thriller against Delhi

cricket13 April 2025 18:42| © MWP
By:Patrick Compton
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Three runouts off the final three balls enabled the Mumbai Indians to beat Delhi Capitals by 12 runs and end their unbeaten run in a thrilling Tata IPL clash at the Feroz Kotla stadium in Delhi on Sunday night.

It was Mumbai’s second win of the tournament and gets them off the bottom of the log.

Their skipper, Hardik Pandya, will be relieved as for long stretches of the Delhi innings, victory looked beyond them.

Indeed, Delhi will wonder how they lost the game because on 135-2 in the 12th over, chasing 206 for victory, they looked well placed to earn their fifth consecutive win.

But then their star batter, Karun Nair, who had played one of the innings of the tournament to race to 89 off 40 balls, including 12 fours and five sixes, was bowled by a superb delivery from Mitchell Santner.

The ball pitched on leg stump and knocked back the off, leaving Nair squared up and bewildered.

The win still seemed on for Delhi, but the rest of the innings folded for 58 runs as the remaining Delhi batters panicked and gave their wickets away.

The three run-outs in the penultimate over just underlined the nature of their surrender as the home team folded for 193 in 19 overs.

Delhi had begun their run chase poorly when their bullish young opener, Jake Fraser-McGurk, drove his first ball straight to cover.

But his dismissal opened the door for Nair, playing his first game of the tournament, who played a series of magnificent shots from the off.

He and opener Abishek Porel (33 off 25 balls) added 119 off just 61 balls for the second wicket against a demoralised Mumbai attack.

But T20 games can change their tune very quickly and tonight was no exception.

Both KL Rahul and Tristan Stubbs will want to forget the strokes they played to get out as the Delhi batters lost their heads.

For Mumbai, impact player Karn Sharma grabbed 3-36 while Santner claimed 2-43, including the prize wicket of Nair.

RICKELTON, VARMA & YADAV STEER MUMBAI EFFORT

Earlier, the Mumbai Indians did well to make 205 for five in their innings after Delhi won the toss and put them in to bat.

The visitors got off to a brisk start on an easy-paced pitch with a lightning outfield, thanks mainly to Ryan Rickelton, as he and Rohit Sharma, who has struggled in this tournament, featured in their best opening stand this year, 47 off 30 balls, with the South African left-hander striking some scorching cover drives.

Sharma departed for 18, leg before heaving across the line to a delivery from legspinner Vipraj Nigam and Rickelton, after blazing 41 off 25 balls, was placed in three minds by a superb wrong ‘un from Delhi’s best bowler, Kuldeep Yadav, that shattered his stumps.

Suryakumar “Sky” Yadav started in familiar fashion, whipping his first ball from paceman Mukesh Kumar over fine leg for six, and he went on to score an entertaining 40 in 28 balls – mostly wristy strokes through the on side – before driving Kuldeep to Mitchell Starc on the long-off boundary.

He and Tilak Varma featured in an excellent partnership of 60 in 33 balls for the third wicket.

Skipper Pandya came and went quickly but Tilak and Naman Dhir maintained the fast run-rate by adding 62 off 33 balls for the fifth wicket before Varma, who scored his second consecutive half-century, was superbly caught on the long-off boundary by Abishek Porel who balanced himself perfectly just inside the rope as he took the catch.

Kuldeep finished with the outstanding figures of 2-23 in his four overs and was the outstanding bowler on the night.

DELHI CAPITALS: 1 Jake Fraser-McGurk, 2 Abishek Porel, 3 KL Rahul (wk), 4 Axar Patel (capt.), 5 Tristan Stubbs, 6 Ashutosh Sharma, 7 Vipraj Nigam, 8 Mitchell Starc, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Mukesh Kumar, 11 Mohit Sharma

MUMBAI INDIANS: 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 Ryan Rickelton (wk), 3 Will Jacks, 4 Suryakumar Yadav, 5 Tilak Varma, 6 Hardik Pandya (capt.), 7 Naman Dhir, 8 Mitchell Santner, 9 Deepak Chahar, 10 Trent Boult, 11 Jasprit Bumrah

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