Mumbai: Mumbai Indians, known as a slow starter, has done wonders by hunting Delhi Capitals in its impenetrable fort Wankhede Stadium. It has qualified for the playoffs by winning 7 out of the last 8 matches. In this way, Mumbai Indians has become the fourth team of the playoffs after Gujarat Titans, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Punjab Kings. However, the qualifier matches are not yet decided, because it is still not decided who will be where in the top-4. Mumbai Indians had scored 180 runs on the basis of Surya's half-century. In response, the Delhi Capitals team surrendered. The entire team collapsed for 121 runs, while Mumbai won the match by 59 runs. They had no answer to Mumbai's pace and spin. Mitchell Santner took 3 wickets, while Jasprit Bumrah also took 3 wickets.
Mumbai Indians have reached the playoffs for the 11th time, while Delhi Capitals' dream of winning the title once again could not be fulfilled.
Earlier, Mumbai Indians were successful in scoring 180 runs for five wickets on a slow pitch against Delhi Capitals with the help of Suryakumar Yadav's (73 not out) half-century and finally an unbeaten 57-run partnership in 21 balls for the sixth wicket with Naman Dheer (24 not out). Suryakumar played an excellent unbeaten innings of 43 balls for the five-time IPL winning team in which he hit seven fours and four sixes. Apart from him, Tilak Verma contributed 27 runs and Ryan Rickelton contributed 25 runs. Naman finally contributed an unbeaten 24 runs with two fours and as many sixes in eight balls.
There was a lot of turn for spinners on the unusual pitch of Wankhede Stadium. Among the spinners for Delhi Capitals, Kuldeep Yadav took one wicket for 25 runs while Vipraaj Nigam gave 25 runs and could not take any wicket. Mukesh Kumar took two wickets for 48 runs. Suryakumar made two important partnerships for his team and saved the faltering innings. Despite the dominance of the spinners of Delhi Capitals, Suryakumar first added 55 runs for the fourth wicket with Tilak Verma and finally scored 57 runs in 21 balls with Naman.
The situation changed completely in the last two overs when Indian T20 captain Suryakumar and Naman scored 48 runs by hitting five sixes and four fours. At one time it seemed that Mumbai batsmen were finding it very difficult to score runs. The players struggled from the end of the powerplay to the start of the 18th over. Rohit Sharma (05) was dismissed for the fourth time this season by left-arm pacer Mustafizur Rahman (1/30).
Suryakumar was given a reprieve when he was on six. In the seventh over, Mukesh Kumar failed to take the catch despite diving at short leg off Kuldeep. But on the next ball, Ryan Rickelton offered a straight catch to Madhav Tiwari at deep square leg, with which Kuldeep also completed his 100 wickets in the IPL. Tilak struggled against Kuldeep throughout his innings, failing to score runs when his team needed him.
Tilak fell prey to Mukesh due to wrong timing and soon after, Hardik Pandya (03) was also dismissed by a slow leg-cutter from Dushmantha Chameera (1/54). Like Tilak, Suryakumar also struggled against Delhi spinners but eventually rose to the occasion to play his best innings of the season.
