IPL 2023: Rohit leads from front to set up maiden win for Mumbai Indians

With the pitch on the drier side compared to the first game here and finger spinners getting plenty of assistance from it, Mumbai Indians had a tricky task at hand but with his classy 65 off 45 balls, Rohit helped his side record their first win of the season.

New Delhi:Rohit Sharma was at his vintage best en route to his first IPL half-century in 25 innings before Mumbai Indians overcame some tense moments to pull off a last-ball win over Delhi Capitals here on Monday. David Warner laboured to 51 off 47 balls before Axar Patel flaunted his much improved batting skills again with an impactful 54 off 25 balls to push Delhi Capitals to a competitive 172 after Mumbai Indians put the hosts in to bat.

With the pitch on the drier side compared to the first game here and finger spinners getting plenty of assistance from it, Mumbai Indians had a tricky task at hand but with his classy 65 off 45 balls, Rohit helped his side record their first win of the season. With Cameron Green (17 not out off 8) and Tim David (13 not out off 11) in the middle, Mumbai needed five runs off the last over but Anrich Nortje bowled brilliantly to take the game down to the very last ball. David got the required two off the final ball for a much needed victory.

Promoted to number three, the in-form Tilak Varma came up with a crucial 41 off 29 balls and forged a 68-run stand with skipper Rohit. It was a much needed win for Mumbai after back-to-back defeats while the season got worse for Delhi who suffered their fourth loss in as many games.

When Rohit charged down the track to pacer Mukesh Kumar in the first over of the innings to pull him for a six over mid-wicket, one could see a special knock coming. There is no better puller in the game than Rohit and that was on full display at the Feroz Shah Kotla. His second six was even better as he pulled Anrich Nortje off the front foot over wide long-on. Rohit's biggest six came off a pull shot too as he smashed a short ball from Nortje for a massive hit over deep square leg.

Delhi were able to stem the flow of runs in the middle overs via spinners Lalit Yadav and Axar Patel before Varma produced timely boundaries to keep Mumbai ahead in the game. Needing 30 off the final five overs with nine wickets in hand, Mumbai were on course for a comfortable win before Mukesh dismissed Varma and Suryakumar Yadav (0) off successive balls.

The nerves increased in the Mumbai dressing room when Rohit fell to a moment of brilliance from young keeper Abhishel Porel who dived to his right to take a sensational one handed catch off Mustafizur Rahman. However, the towering Australian duo David and Green took their team over the line.

Earlier, veteran Piyush Chawla, who was commentating in the IPL last season after going unsold, showed he has still got his sublime skills intact with a three-wicket haul for Mumbai Indians. Prithvi Shaw, who struggled in the first three games, hit some high quality boundaries in his 10-ball 15 before falling to a sweep shot off spinner Hrithik Shokeen.

Number three Manish Pandey (26 off 18) used his feet brilliantly against the spinners but that also led to his downfall. Yash Dhull, who made his IPL debut after warming the bench for the whole of last season, could last only four balls. When Chawla trapped Rovman Powell with a googly in the 11th over, Delhi were staring at a below par total at 86 for four.

However, Axar joined a struggling Warner in the middle and single-handedly changed the momentum of Delhi's innings. Arguably the most improved batter of the Indian team over the last 12 months, Axar made his intentions clear with back-to-back inside out sixes off Shokeen.

Two overs later, it was the turn of left-arm pacer Jason Behrendorff to be at the receiving end of Axar's onslaught. After dispatching him for a six over long-on, Axar targeted the same area again and got lucky as Suyakumar Yadav missed the catch completely and got hit above his eye with the ball going all the way. Surya was expectedly taken off the field after that nasty hit.

Axar's fifth and last six was the best of the lot as he smashed Meredith over the latter's head to bring up his half-century. Mumbai put the brakes on the scoring rate by picking four wickets in the 19th over bowled by Behrendorff, who ended with figures of three for 23 in four overs. (PTI)

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• Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan have provided the best start this season branded with an aggressive batting approach. For Mumbai as of my, it seems like a smooth trail so far and DC would look to get one of them soon if they are aspiring for any chances of a victory here.

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Innings report:

David Warner laboured to his third fifty of the season before Axar Patel flaunted his much improved batting skills again to push Delhi Capitals to 172 allout against Mumbai Indians in the IPL here on Monday. Warner struck 51 off 47 balls before Axar's impactful 54 off 25 balls took Delhi to a competitive total after Mumbai Indians put the hosts in to bat.

Veteran Piyush Chawla, who was commentating in the IPL last season after going unsold, showed he has still got his sublime skills in tact with a three-wicket haul for Mumbai Indians. Prithvi Shaw, who struggled in the first three games, hit some high quality boundaries in his 10-ball 15 before falling to a sweep shot off spinner Hrithik Shokeen.

Number three Manish Pandey (26 off 18) used his feet brilliantly against the spinners but that also led to his downfall. Yash Dhull, who made his IPL debut after warming the bench for the whole of last season, could last only four balls. When Chawla trapped Rovman Powell with a googly in the 11th over, Delhi were staring at a below par total at 86 for four.

However, Axar joined a struggling Warner in the middle and singlehandedly changed the momentum of Delhi's innings. Arguably the most improved batter of the Indian team over the last 12 months, Axar made his intentions clear with back-to-back inside out sixes off Shokeen.

Two overs later, it was the turn of left-arm pacer Jason Behrendorff to be at the receiving end of Axar's onslaught. After dispatching him for a six over long-on, Axar targeted the same area again and got lucky as Suyakumar Yadav missed the catch completely and got hit above his eye with the ball going all the way.

Surya was expectedly taken off the field after that nasty hit. Axar's fifth and last six was the best of the lot as he smashed Meredith over the latter's head to bring up his half-century. Mumbai put the brakes on the scoring rate by picking four wickets in the 19th over bowled by Behrendorff, who ended with figures of three for 23 in four overs.

IPL Scoreboard: MI vs DC

Delhi Capitals:

David Warner c Meredith b Behrendorff 51

Prithvi Shaw c Green b Shokeen 15

Manish Pandey c Behrendorff b Chawla 26

Yash Dhull c Wadhera b Meredith 2

Rovman Powell lbw b Chawla 4

Lalit Yadav b Chawla 2

Axar Patel c Arshad Khan b Behrendorff 54

Abishek Porel c Green b Behrendorff 1

Kuldeep Yadav run out 0

Anrich Nortje b Meredith 5

Mustafizur Rahman not out 1

Extras: (LB-1 NB-2 W-8) 11

Total: (All out in 19.4 overs) 172

Fall of wickets:1/33 2/76 3/81 4/86 5/98 6/165 7/166 8/166 9/166 10/172

Bowling: Jason Behrendorff 3-0-23-3, Arshad Khan 1-0-12-0, Cameron Green

3-0-30-0, Hrithik Shokeen 4-0-43-1, Riley Meredith 3.4-0-34-2, Piyush Chawla 4-0-22-3, Tilak Varma 1-0-7-0.

Brief Scores:

Delhi Capitals: 172 all out in 19.4 overs (David Warner 51, Axar Patel 54; Piyush Chawla 3/22, Jason Behrendorff 3/23).

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• Manish Pandey (26), Rovman Powell (4), Lalit Yadav (2) were all dismissed by Piyush Chawal, who has three wickets to his name thus far. Yash Dhull, meanwhile, was dismissed by Riley Meredith for a meagre 2 runs. Warner is still on the crease, trying to hold one end and take DC to a respectable score but frequent tumbling of wickets isn't helping his/team's cause.
• David Warner and Prithvi Shaw have provided Delhi Capitals a decent start. However, Shaw, who looked good initially, struggled to get going and soon fell to Hrithik Shokeen. This brought Manish Pandey to the crease and he along with Warner will look to up the ante, and the score.

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New Delhi:Mumbai Indians on Tuesday won the toss and opted to bowl against Delhi Capitals here at Arun Jaitley Stadium in the 16th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Here's what the skippers of the respective sides had to say:

Rohit: We will bowl first. We batted in the first 2 games, didn't do well enough. The pitch looks dry and probably take some turn and dew might also be a factor tonight. We got Riley Meredith in place of Stubbs. The other changes is about the impact players. We will see how it goes. When the chips are down you need the senior players to stand up. Jofra is not available.

Warner: We would have done the same thing. For me it is about finding rhythm and as a whole group we gotta work harder and get sharper. We got a forced change, Khaleel Ahmed is injured and we got Yash Dhull in place of him. Also Rilee Rossouw makes way for Mustafizur Rahman. All the boys are up and about, we gotta adapt to the situations and pumped to be playing in front of the home ground.

Teams:

Delhi Capitals (Playing XI): Prithvi Shaw, David Warner(c), Manish Pandey, Yash Dhull, Rovman Powell, Lalit Yadav, Axar Patel, Abishek Porel(w), Kuldeep Yadav, Anrich Nortje, Mustafizur Rahman

Mumbai Indians (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma(c), Ishan Kishan(w), Cameron Green, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Nehal Wadhera, Hrithik Shokeen, Arshad Khan, Piyush Chawla, Jason Behrendorff, Riley Meredith

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PREVIEW:

Both Delhi Capitals and Mumbai Indians will be expecting a lot more from their local talent as they search for their maiden victory in the Indian Premier League here on Tuesday. It is extremely difficult to gain consistency in the highly competitive league if the Indian players are not delivering and that is what is plaguing both sides.

Delhi are being forced to go back to the drawing board after three losses in as many games while perennial slow starters Mumbai have also lost two in two. Both have their work cut out in all the departments. Delhi's top-order was 'Boulted' in the last game, raising questions about Prithvi Shaw's ability against fast bowling. He has been dismissed in a different fashion -- pace, bounce and swing, in his three innings and there doesn't seem to be a quick fix to his technical issues.

With wickets falling at the other end, skipper David Warner has got the runs but it has come at a strike rate of 117. He is expected to do better than that. Getting the opportunity in the absence of Mitchell Marsh, who has gone back home to get married, Manish Pandey lasted only one ball and the veteran batter will be keen to make an impact at Kotla.

Delhi's pacers, including Anrich Nortje, Mukesh Kumar and Khaleel Ahmed, have been taken to the cleaners and the team must address that issue against Mumbai. A spicy deck was dished out for the opening game here with pacers getting plenty of assistance. The conditions might favour them again for the Delhi attack to bounce back. There is a big question mark over the fitness of Khaleel, who injured his hamstring in the game against Rajasthan Royals.

In the spin department, Kuldeep Yadav has been economical but the team expects more from him in the middle overs while Axar Patel has been expensive. "If I could put my finger on it, I'd do something to change it. We need to do some more soul-searching as a group and talk about it. Three games in and no wins you can't get afford to get off to bad starts in the IPL," head coach Ricky Ponting said after the loss to the Royals.

The star-studded Mumbai Indians too have a lot to figure out, starting with their explosive top-order which has flattered to deceive so far. Skipper Rohit Sharma looked good before a beauty of a ball from Tushar Deshpande got the better of him against CSK. A special knock from Ishan Kishan too is awaited while million dollar buy Cameron Green is yet to make an impact.

When a batter is out of form, he finds new ways to get out and that is what is happening with star player Suryakumar Yadav, who would be hoping his unexpected lean run ends on Tuesday. The young Tilak Verma has stood out in an otherwise under performing batting department. Rohit had no hesitation in saying after the CSK game that the senior players need to step up.