IPL 2023: Brilliant Rohit Sharma breaks MI's deadlock; powers 6-wicket thrilling win over DC; Paltans rejoice
IPL 2023: Mumbai Indians finally broke its deadlock to script its maiden season win by decimating a winless Delhi Capitals by six wickets. Rohit Sharma was back to his best, as his brilliant knock of 65 got the job done, while the Paltans rejoiced.
FollowIt was finally success for former five-time record champion Mumbai Indians (MI), which scripted its maiden triumph of the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL), as it whipped a winless Delhi Capitals (DC) by six wickets in a final-ball thriller at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on Tuesday, thanks to a brilliant comeback knock from skipper Rohit Sharma, who struck 65. The conquest allowed the Paltans to rejoice on social media.
Winning the toss, MI invited DC to bat, as the hosts were off to a steady start, with openers David Warner (51) and Prithvi Shaw (15) putting on a 33-run partnership before the latter fell to off-spinner Hrithik Shokeen in the fourth over of the PowerPlay (PP). However, his dismissal did not allow DC to panic.
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Warner and Manish Pandey (26) added 43 for the second wicket to keep it going before veteran leg-spinner Piyush Chawla dismissed the latter in the ninth. While DC was quickly down to 98/5 by the 13th, Warner and Axar Patel (54) put on a 67-run stand for the sixth, allowing the hosts to go strong with the bat, while a dropped catch of the latter by Suryakumar Yadav saw the fielder hurting his left eye.
While Warner and Axar slammed their 58th and maiden IPL half-centuries, the latter fell to pacer Jason Behrendorff in the 19th along with Warner, as DC lost wickets in bulk thereon, getting bowled out for 172 by the final over with a couple of balls remaining, whereas for MI, Chawla and Behrendorff clasped a couple of wickets each, with the latter being laboriously economical.
Ahead of MI's chase, DC brought in pacer Mukesh Kumar as its Impact Player (IP), replacing Shaw. In reply, the visitors were off to a brilliant start, with openers Rohit and Ishan Kishan (31) contributing to a 71-run partnership. The pair was going strong until the eighth when the latter was unfortunately run out following a wrong call from the former.
MI hardly panicked as Rohit and Tilak Varma (41) added 68 more for the second wicket and were going just about the asking rate before the latter was taken down by Mukesh, who had been on the receiving end, in the 16th, while it was quickly down to 143/4, with the former falling to pacer Mustafizur Rahman in the 17th, having punched his 41st IPL 50.
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With the game evenly poised, in the penultimate 19th over, Tim David (13*) and Cameron Green (17*) slammed Rahman a couple of sixes to bring MI back in the chase. With five needed off the last six deliveries, pacer Anrich Nortje bowled brilliantly, only to concede a couple of runs off the final ball. The visitors ran away with a six-wicket conquest, while Mukesh grabbed a couple for DC, with leg-spinner Axar being the economical one.
