Mumbai Indians 209 for 5 (Karthik 86, Rohit 74*) beat Delhi Daredevils 165 for 9 (Warner 61, Juneja 49) by 44 runs
|
Dinesh Karthik's explosive innings blindsided Delhi Daredevils and
turned Mumbai Indians' horrific start into the first 200-plus total of
the season, one large enough to secure a 44-run win in their first home
game. Rohit Sharma gave Karthik support at the start of their 132-run
partnership, before turning it on himself at the end to help his team
secure their second victory in three games.
Mumbai had lost their openers in the first nine balls of the innings -
Ricky Ponting caught by Mahela Jayawardene for a duck, Sachin Tendulkar
run out by Jayawardene for one - but Karthik played like a batsman who
has had solid scores in his first two games of the season.
After seeing out three overs quietly, Karthik took 15 runs off an Ashish
Nehra over. He dominated the third-wicket partnership with Rohit,
reaching 50 off 29 balls. Rohit was on 12 at the time. Mumbai reached 80
for 2 in 10 overs, and made it to the 100 mark in 12 overs.
Karthik went ballistic after reaching his fifty. He raced to 86 off 48
balls, taking his last 36 runs off 19 balls. He pulled the ball with
glee, and his on-side play was entertaining. Karthik was perhaps the
least likely among the Mumbai top four to get the orange cap, but he is
now the first this season.
Rohit batted at the right pace, letting Karthik take more strike during
their stand. Later he played second fiddle to Kieron Pollard and Ambati
Rayudu, who blasted two fours and two sixes in his eight-ball 24. Rayudu
helped Mumbai take 22 runs off the penultimate over from Irfan Pathan,
who had begun the evening with a maiden over, and Rohit's final-over
treatment of Nehra - 20 runs - took his team to 209 for 5.
Mumbai got off to a stunning start when they began defence of their 209
runs. Off the first ball of the innings, Ponting dived quite a distance
to his right at cover to take a stunning catch to dismiss Unmukt Chand.
It was the opener's second first-ball duck in the tournament, but it was
also the most unlikely bowler-fielder combination. The bowler was
Harbhajan Singh, who had a history of run-ins with Ponting, but now they
were hugging in joy.
David Warner hit boundaries with regularity at the other end, swiftly
moving to 50 off 34 balls, but frequent wickets didn't allow Daredevils
to settle into a rhythm. Warner fell for 61 off 37 deliveries, and
Manprit Juneja's 49 was the only other sizeable score. Rishi Dhawan's
direct hit from midwicket to run out Juneja was the final act in
Mumbai's impressive fielding performance.
Mohammad Isam is ESPNcricinfo's Bangladesh correspondent. He tweets here
Feeds: Mohammad Isam
© ESPN EMEA Ltd.
No comments:
Post a Comment