New Delhi, April 4 – Stand-in captain Suryakumar Yadav scored 51, as Mumbai Indians posted a competitive 162/6 in 20 overs against the Delhi Capitals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on Saturday.
This was the kind of innings that Mumbai Indians needed – Suryakumar and Rohit Sharma put together a 53-run partnership. However, just as it looked like they were building something significant, Delhi Capitals intervened, taking wickets at regular intervals, with Mukesh Kumar being the standout bowler with 2-26.
Suryakumar's measured 51 off 36 balls, featuring three fours and two sixes, was the backbone of Mumbai Indians' innings, helping them surpass the 160-run mark despite 38 runs coming in the final four overs. The crowd got excited early on when Ryan Rickelton hit Mukesh Kumar through midwicket and fine leg for fours, while fan favourite Rohit Sharma also hit two boundaries off Lungi Ngidi through the point and fine leg regions.
Mukesh corrected his mistakes from the first over by bowling with a tighter line and good length in his second over. The result was immediate – Rickelton chipped to mid-off, while Tilak Varma was dismissed by a cleverly disguised knuckle ball that looped back to the bowler for a simple caught-and-bowled dismissal.
At 31/2, Suryakumar came in and started by hitting Mukesh for four, before sweeping Vipraj Nigam for another boundary. While trying to keep Ngidi's slower deliveries at bay, Rohit was lucky to get an edge that went for four, before smashing an authoritative cover drive on the next ball.
After the powerplay, the sixes came in quick succession – Rohit launched Nigam back over long-on, while Suryakumar cleared backward square leg off Axar. After Rohit survived an lbw appeal off Kuldeep Yadav, Axar dismissed him, as he chipped a slower ball to cover. Sherfane Rutherford was cheaply dismissed – holing out to deep midwicket off Nigam.
But Suryakumar continued – paddling and lofting with ease – to reach a measured fifty in 35 balls, with Naman Dhir providing able support. Together, they plundered 17 runs from Kuldeep in the 15th over, with Dhir's inside-out loft over extra cover being a standout shot.
However, Delhi Capitals bounced back as Ngidi's skiddy pace-off delivery trapped Suryakumar lbw, while Dhir pulled straight to deep mid-wicket off T Natarajan. A brace of boundaries, each from Mitchell Santner and Corbin Bosch, helped Mumbai Indians surpass the 160-run mark and set the stage for a fascinating second half.
Brief scores:
Mumbai Indians 162/6 in 20 overs (Suryakumar Yadav 51, Rohit Sharma 35; Mukesh Kumar 2-26, Axar Patel 1-22) against Delhi Capitals