IPL 2020, MI v DC: Who won yesterday's match?
Defending champions Mumbai Indians rocketed to the top of the IPL 2020 points table with a 5-wicket win over the Delhi Capitals in the 27th match of the competition at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
Set a target of 163 to get from 20 overs, MI lost skipper Rohit Sharma (5) within the powerplay, before a 46-run partnership between Quinton de Kock and Suryakumar Yadav steadied the chase.
Veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin dismissed de Kock for a 36-ball 53 on the penultimate ball of the 10th over, leaving MI 85 runs to get off the remaining 60 deliveries.
Suryakumar continued on his merry ways and brought up his half-century off just 32 balls with a nonchalant flick over fine leg, but the stylish right-hander was removed two balls later by Kagiso Rabada.
Birthday boy Hardik Pandya's stay at the crease lasted a mere two deliveries, opening up a slight avenue for DC to harbour hopes of picking up an unlikely win.
Some tight bowling from the DC pace duo of Anrich Nortje and Kagiso Rabada took the game into the last over, with MI needing seven runs from the last six deliveries.
Marcus Stoinis was thrown the ball for the final over, and the Australian delivered a 'hit-me' ball first up which was flicked away by Krunal towards backward square leg for a boundary.
With three runs needed off the last five balls, singles off consecutive balls and a four off the third ball sealed the deal for MI, as they registered a 5-wicket win with two balls to spare.
Shikhar Dhawan strikes form with much-needed half-century
DC skipper Shreyas Iyer won the toss and opted to bat first, but young Prithvi Shaw was sent back to the hut on the third ball after he offered a simple catch to Krunal Pandya off Trent Boult's first over.
Ajinkya Rahane - replacing the injured Rishabh Pant in the XI - looked fluent for his 15-ball 15, before he was caught in front by a straighter one from Krunal. With two quick wickets falling within the powerplay, DC skipper Iyer and Dhawan went about re-constructing the innings, putting on an important 85-run partnership in 62 balls.
Iyer (42) and Stoinis (13) were sent back to the pavilion within the 17th over, leaving Dhawan to do a bulk of the scoring in the slog overs. The southpaw did collect a couple of boundaries and finished unbeaten on a 52-ball 69 which helped the Capitals to a reasonable total of 162/4 from 20 overs.
IPL 2020: MI v DC, Who won man of the match yesterday?
Mumbai Indians opener Quinton de Kock was in fine touch for his side in this clash against the Capitals, scoring boundaries at will to give the Rohit Sharma-led side an upper hand during the chase.
Despite a slow start that saw him score just seven runs off his first nine balls, De Kock carted R Ashwin for a six and a four in the fourth over, before he collected two sixes off the 6th over bowled by Nortje to scooter away to a 24-ball 38.
The South African was then happy to rotate strike in an attempt to build a partnership with Suryakumar Yadav, but soon enough, he smashed Harshal Patel for consecutive boundaries in the 8th over to bring up his fifty off just 32 balls.
Although he was removed in the 10th over by Ashwin, De Kock had done enough to lay the foundation for the MI middle-order to build on, and in the end, the defending champions picked up a last-over win.
And, for his second fifty in three matches, Quinton de Kock was named as the Man of the Match in yesterday's IPL match.