Akshar Patel and Lalit Yadav contributed with an unbeaten 75-run stand as Delhi Capitals (DC) defeated Mumbai Indians by a margin of 4 wickets in the second match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 tournament, played at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday afternoon.
After Mumbai Indians posted a formidable total of 177/5, Delhi Capitals were struggling at one stage in their chase Akshar Patel and Lalit Yadav played outstanding knocks respectively to hand their team a crucial victory in the first match of the IPL 2022 tournament.
Delhi Capitals finished with 179/6 from 18.2 overs, winning the contest by 4 wickets in hand and 10 balls to spare.
It was Delhi Capitals who won the toss and invited Mumbai Indians to bat first. The decision proved wrong at the start of the contest as the opening pair of Mumbai Indians, Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan, added 67 runs in about 9 overs to provide a strong platform to the four-time winners.
Rohit looked in rich form, scoring 41 from 32 balls with the help of 4 boundaries and 2 sixes whereas Kishan remained unbeaten on 81, which came from 48 balls with the help of 11 boundaries and 2 sixes.
Mumbai Indians would have indeed scored more but Chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav applied brakes to their innings with a superb three-wicket haul, returning with impressive numbers of 4-0-18-3, dismissing Anmolpreet Singh (8), Rohit and Kieron Pollard (3) in the process.
Towards the end of the Mumbai Indians’ innings, Tilak Varma contributed with a rapid 22 not out from 18 balls with the help of 3 boundaries whereas Tim David smacked one six to make 12 from 17 balls.
Apart from Kuldeep, Khaleel Ahmed was also impressive as he returned with 2/27 from his 4 overs.
In their reply, Delhi Capitals were off to a flying start but they lost opening batsman Tim Seifert in the fourth over after he hit 4 boundaries to race to 21 from only 14 balls. The other opening batsman, Prithvi Shaw was dismissed by Basil Thampi for a 24-ball 38, after the right-handed aggressive batsmen had hit 4 boundaries and 2 sixes during his stay at the crease.
Delhi Capitals struggled in the middle as Mandeep Singh was dismissed for a second-ball duck by Murugan Ashwin and Tymal Mills removed their captain Rishabh Pant for 1.
The matters became worse for Delhi Capitals when their Caribbean cricket al Rovman Powell fell for a second-ball duck, dismissed by Thampi who also removed Shardul Thakur after the Indian all-rounder had scored 22 from just 11 balls with the help of 4 boundaries.
At one stage it looked like Delhi Capitals would not be able to make it past the finish line as they were struggling at 104/6 when Thakur was dismissed in the 14th over.
But the pair of Patel and Yadav did the job for their side, with an unbeaten 75-run stand. Yadav remained unbeaten on 48 from 38 balls with 4 boundaries and 2 sixes whereas Patel hammered 3 sixes and a couple of boundaries to reach 38 not out from only 17 balls.
For Delhi Capitals, the next clash will be against the Gujarat Titans on April 2 whereas Mumbai Indians will face Rajasthan Royals on the same day in the afternoon match.