Mumbai Indians flirted with another defeat before a jailbreak saw it escape to a six-wicket win off the last delivery in a thriller on the Delhi Capitals’s home ground in the Indian Premier League at the Feroz Shah Kotla on Tuesday night. In the end, it was David Warner’s squad that ended up with a fourth successive defeat that was the price for some poor batting.
Many fingernails would have been nibbled out of shape in the two dug outs and beyond. For, the drama in the final over was worthy of a T20 classic. With only four runs left to defend after Cameron Green and Impact Player Tim David had magically produced sixes in the previous over, Anrich Nortje relentlessly produced six pacy Yorkers.
A dropped catch off the second delivery, a DRS reversal of a call for a wide off the next ball and two run out chances off the final two deliveries, ending with David’s desperate lunge beating David Warner’s throw to the wicket-keeper Abhishek Porel allowed Mumbai Indians to break into relieved smiles and Delhi Capitals frustrated with not having posted more than 172 in 19.4 overs.
Mustafizur Rahman appeared to be setting up a tight finish when he was brought back in the 15th over with Mumbai at 121 for 1. He bowled two overs for 10 runs and a wicket, tilting the scales towards the home side on a night when Chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav was rendered ineffective by the aggression of the left-handed Tilak Varma.
However, Mustafizur Rahman conceded a six each to Cameron Green and Tim David in the 19th over and presented Nortje with the stiffest of challenges. Yet, Mumbai Indians has only itself to blame for letting things get so close in the end, with Nortje scripting a hostile final over. Skipper Rohit Sharma and Tilak Varma were in great control but allowed some drama in the end.
Rohit Sharma got to an IPL half-century after the longest time, but while it was not really a master class, there were glimpses of the clock turning back early on in his innings. Even from the opening over by Mukesh Kumar, he seemed to have found his sublime touch that makes batting look so easy on the eye of the beholder.
Yet, after he got to the milestone that had eluded him all of IPL 2022, he disappointed himself by not staying back till the end. Rohit Sharma was trying to be creative against Mustafizur Rahman but ended up guiding the ball to where first slip would have been. Wicket-keeper Abhishek Porel flung himself to his right and was at full stretch when he caught the ball with his right glove.
Perhaps – and even if the schedule does allow him time – Tilak Varma replay his assault on Mukesh Kumar with mixed emotions. He would be delighted that he countered a two-run over from Mustafizur Rahman by slamming 16 runs off the first three deliveries from Mukesh Kumar but in pursuit of another boundary, he flicked a catch to deep mid-wicket.
As he banks on footwork, timing and placement in dominating the bowlers, Tilak Varma can be a joy to watch. But with the team needing 34 runs in just over four overs, he could have been the batter to stay till the end. His fall triggered a mini collapse with Suryakumar Yadav falling to the next delivery and Rohit Sharma departing in the next over, allowing the home side to smell a kill.
Earlier, David Warner (seen above with Assistant Coach Shane Watson, photo courtesy, Delhi Capitals) got his third half-century in four starts but even he will concede that he is not at his best. His knock was a study in holding one end up, playing well within oneself, despite a frustrating collapse at the other end. His quest for the touch he is known for continued and his innings was, at best, about scrapping hard.
The left-handed Axar Patel’s timing with the bat was such that he not only appeared to be showcasing his skills on a different Ferozshah Kotla track to his team-mates but also made the Mumbai Indians attack look different. His knock pepped up the home side’s fans but the team could have done with a lot more than 54 off 25 from him – and from most top-order batters.
The grim situation his side found itself in did not cripple him as he lofted Shokeen for sixes on either side of the wicket, sent two fuller deliveries from Jason Behrendorff over long-on, challenging Suryakumar Yadav’s catching skills, and rubbed it in with another six off Riley Meredith to get to his maiden half-century in IPL.
Even as Delhi Capitals lost four wickets in the mayhem of the 19th over, it was hard not to wonder why Rohit Sharma did not give Jason Behrendorff his full quota of four overs. After a seven-run opening over, the paceman was brought back only in the 17th over by which time Axar Patel had got his eye in and powered the home side towards a fighting total.
Even on a track that offered a bit of encouragement to the tweakers, it was surprising to see the Mumbai Indians captain call on Tilak Varma’s off-spin bowling ahead of Behrendorff. His decision to rope the left-arm paceman to bowl the final four overs in tandem with Riley Meredith was a bit baffling.
In keeping with the trend of wrist spinners holding their own in IPL, Piyush Chawla joined the party by picking up a wicket in each of his last three overs to leave Delhi Capitals tottering at 98 for five in the 13th over. It was about time that the 34-year-old showed up after spending the previous edition as a TV commentator.
This piece was written for RevSportz and appeared here
