PANT POWER MAULS MUMBAI
Veteran Yuvraj Singh (53 off 35) and Krunal Pandya’s quickfire cameo went in vain as Delhi Capitals outclassed Mumbai Indians by 37 runs in their campaign opener at the Wankhede Stadium here on Sunday.
A rebranded Delhi team showed its effort in every department of the game as firstly it rode Rishabh Pant’s blistering knock to post a massive total of 213 runs before their bowlers also rose to the occasion to bowl out the threetime champions for 176 in 19.2 overs. Chasing the huge 214-run target, Mumbai had a slow but steady start as they put up 28 runs in three overs without losing a wicket. However, Delhi’s Ishant Sharma dealt the first blow as he dismissed Mumbai skipper Rohit Sharma (14) in the fourth over.
Incoming batsman Suryakumar Yadav (2) also departed soon while Ishant struck again to send back the dangerous Quinton de Kock (27).
Yuvraj and Keiron Pollard (21 off 13) then showed some fight as they added 50 runs for the fourth wicket to help Mumbai approach the three digit mark. However, Keemo Paul removed Pollard to land the hosts in deep trouble as their scorecard read 95/4 in the 11th over.
Earlier, Rishabh Pant’s blistering knock helped Delhi Capitals post a massive 213/6. As soon as Pant arrived in the middle, the young stumper took every bowler to the cleaners to blast an unbeaten 78 off just 27 deliveries with the help of seven boundaries and as many hits into the stands.
Apart from Pant, opener Shikhar Dhawan (43 off 36) and Colin Ingram (47 off 32) also made valuable contributions. Put into bat, Delhi were off to a poor start as they lost opener Prithvi Shaw (7) and skipper Shreyas Iyer (16) with just 29 runs on board. Mumbai pacer Mitchell McClenaghan accounted for both the wickets. Dhawan and Ingram then stabilised Delhi’s innings with a crucial 83-run partnership for the third wicket before Ben Cutting sent the latter to the hut in the 13th over. —