Axar Patel and Lalit Yadav’s fine knocks helped Delhi Capitals(DC) defeat Mumbai Indians(MI) by 4 wickets and ten balls to spare in their opening game in the IPL 2022.
A 75-run partnership in just 30 balls between Patel and Lalit Yadav enabled Delhi to chase down a competitive total of 177 runs in 18.2 overs.
However, Delhi started their innings poorly as they lost three wickets in quick succession including captain Rishabh Pant. DC were tottering at 32 for 3 in 4.2 overs. But at the other end, Prithvi Shaw took the charge and added 40 runs with Lalit Yadav.
After taking two quick wickets of Prithvi Shaw and Rovman Powell, it looked like MI have sealed the game but Yadav rescued the team. First, he made a 32-run stand with Shardul Thakur for the sixth wicket and then added 75 runs for the 7th wicket in just 30 balls with Axar Patel to guide DC home.
Axar made 38 runs in just 17 balls with the help of two fours and three towering sixes while Lalit Yadav made 48 runs in 38 balls.
Earlier, fine bowling performances by left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav and pacer Khaleel Ahmad helped Delhi Capitals restrict Mumbai Indians to a par score of 177/5 in 20 overs.
On being asked to bat first, MI openers Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan gave a splendid start to the innings. Sharma was more aggressive in his approach than Kishan, trying to send out everything over the fence. Both batters were scoring runs freely as none of the DC bowlers including star spinner Axar Patel were effective enough to curtail the racing run rate.
Rishabh Pant brought Kuldeep Yadav into the attack in the 8th over. The 27-year-old left-arm spin bowler immediately gave a respite to the team when he scalped the dangerous Sharma, who scored 41 off 32 with the help of two sixes and four fours and added 67 runs with Kishan in 8.2 overs.
In his next over, Yadav gave another jolt to Mumbai Indians, taking Anmolpreet Singh’s wicket. The departure of Anmolpreet brought the debutant 19-year-old, Tilak Verma. However, Tilak only scored 22 off 15 before Khaleel Ahmed got him out.
After losing three wickets in quick succession, the scoring rate of MI slumped, but Kishan at the other end was finding the fence regularly. When Mumbai were set to regain the momentum, Kuldeep once again provided a break, taking Kieron Pollard’s wicket.
Ishan took charge in the slog overs and helped MI reach a competitive 177 and remained not out on 81 from 48 balls with the help of 11 fours and two sixes.
