Quinton de Kock (right) with MI teammate Suryakumar Yadav in action against Delhi Capitals in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.
Mumbai Indians are back at the top table and did so in style by defeating their top contenders by five-wicket in a largely MI-dominated game in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.
Sturdy half-centuries from top-order duo Quinton de Kock and Suryakumar Yadav (both scoring 53) meant the effort proved enough in chasing down Delhi Capital’s target of 163, which came through Shikhar Dhawan’s unbeaten 52-ball 69.
Chasing the below-par target, Mumbai Indians saw their in-form skipper Rohit Sharma (5) depart for cheap after he failed to clear the boundary over deep mid-wicket in the fifth over with 31 runs on board.
The early jolt had no bearing on his partner Quinton de Kock, who did most of the scoring in the opening stand, to steer MI towards the total with no. 3 Suryakumar Yadav on the other end. The South African southpaw kept the scoreboard moving and scored 36-ball 53, laced with three maximums and four boundaries, in a 46-run second-wicket stand.
However, de Kock couldn’t convert his 50 into a bigger score with R Ashwin removing the opener in the 10th over to bring DC back in the game.
DC immediately had another chance to strike with a mix-up between Suryakumar and newly-in Ishan Kishan. However, a direct hit at the striker end with Ishan way out of the crease on the other end meant the chance went begging.
Suryakumar, who was already feeling comfortable after spending considerable time in the middle, took over the scoring responsibility. The Mumbai right-hander smashed six boundaries and a six over the fine leg to bring in his 50. However, he met the same fate as de Kock after he miscued a shot direct to DC skipper Shreyas Iyer at short long-off to end his innings at 53.
Panic struck MI immediately as Hardik Pandya (0 off 2) departed two balls later, leaving the side chasing troubled at 130/4.
However, Ishan Kishan’s 15-ball 28 cameo in the closing stages, especially a six in the 18th over, before falling to Rabada meant the match tilted heavily in MI’s favour as they needed just 10 runs off the last two overs.
Kieron Pollard and Krunal Pandya ensured victory from there on with little discomfort.
Earlier in the first innings, DC opener Shikhar Dhawan played through the innings but managed to score only 69 runs in 52 balls to take the side to 162 as Jasprit Bumrah and Krunal Pandya both ended with economies of 6.5 in their four overs.
Off the four wickets that fell, two were picked up by Krunal while Trent Boult got one. Boult provided the breakthrough in the form of Prithvi Shaw off the third ball of the match.
Krunal, meanwhile, accounted for the wickets of Ajinkya Rahane (15) and DC captain Shreyas Iyer (42). Shreyas put up a partnership of 85 runs with Dhawan.
