An exceptional performance taking all responsibility on shoulder skipper Shaun Pollock, first in bat and then ball guided Mumbai Indians to taste their second consecutive win in six games by defeating Delhi Daredevils by 29 runs in the DLF Indian Premier League at the DY Patil stadium on Sunday.
Responding to target of 162-8, the Delhi Daredevils lost two early wickets in form of Gautam Gambhir and Shikhar Dhawan (1). Gambhir the highest run scorer so far in the tournament fall to the bowling of Ashish Nehra just making a mere 1 run.
However, a brilliant 40 of just 20 by Delhi skipper Virender Sehwag put some hope in partnership with AB de Villiers (21 of 17) and then with Shoaib Malik (24 of 22). The fall of Sehwag and Malik added more pressure to the middle order batsmen though wicket keeper Dinesh Karthik’s 23-ball 28 came as valuable but wickets tumble at quick succession and Daredevils bowled out for 133 in 18.5 overs.
Sachin Tendulkar’s fitness problem yet again came as jolt to Mumbai Indians who are desperate to keep their winning spree on track after the last match win against Kolkata Knight Riders. But it was Stand-in skipper Shaun Pollock who first made a magnificent 33 of just 15 balls and then bowled a great spell of 4 overs taking two wickets and giving way only 16 runs.
Earlier, batting first the Mumbai Indians with one win on the board seemed to have a cautious start as both the opener Sanath Jayasuriya and Yogesh Takawle played some good knocks but Yogesh fall to Rajat Bhatia scoring only 14 of 20 balls. Sanath (34, 16 balls) was the second wicket to go when the score was just 50 in 6 overs.
Mumbai’s middle order too couldn’t manage to hold their wickets except a good partnership between Dominic Thornely (30 of 24 balls) and Robin Uthappa (22- 21ball). However, skipper Shaun Pollock came in rescue of Mumbai Indians to board a moderate total of 162/8. Pollock’s brilliance of 33 came in just 15 balls with the help of 2 boundaries and 3 sixes.
This is Mumbai Indians’ second win in the tournament in six matches and the first one in front of the home crowd. No doubt it would further boost up their confidence if Sachin joins the fray in the next match- schedule on May 07 against Rajasthan Royals.
Teams
Delhi Daredevils: Virender Sehwag(c), Gautam Gambhir, Shikhar Dhawan, AB de Villiers, Shoaib Malik, Dinesh Karthik(wk), Rajat Bhatia, Yo Mahesh, Glenn McGrath, Pradeep Sangwan, Mohammad Asif
Mumbai Indians: Shaun Pollock(c), Ajinkya Rahane, Sanath Jayasuriya, Robin Uthappa, Dwayne Bravo, Abhishek Nayar, Yogesh Takawle (wk), Musavir Khote, Dominic Thornley, Ashish Nehra, Dhawal Kulkarni
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