Mumbai Indians have reached the finals of the Indian Premier League after thrashing Delhi Capitals by 57-run in Qualifier 1 here at Dubai International Stadium on Thursday. A spirited performance by defending champions will now see them playing against the winner of Qualifier 2 in the final at Dubai International Stadium on Tuesday, November 10. On the other hand, Delhi will play against the winner of the Eliminator clash between SunRisers Hyderabad and Royal Challengers Bangalore to qualify for the summit clash.
Chasing a mammoth target of 201, Delhi have the worst possible start as the top-three batsmen departed without scoring a run. Trent Boult dismissed both Prithvi Shaw and Ajinkya Rahane in the first over and finished the over as a double-wicket maiden. In the next over, speedster Jasprit Bumrah bagged Shikhar Dhawan (0) and shattered Delhi’s batting line-up. Skipper Shreyas Iyer and Marcus Stoinis tried to build a partnership and added 20- run for the fourth wicket. Bumrah got rid of in-form Iyer (12) and reduced the side to 20/4 in 3.5 overs. Rishabh Pant joined Stoinis in the middle. Pant (3) failed to find momentum and was soon sent back to the pavilion by Krunal Pandya in the eighth over.
Axar Patel and Stoinis then stitched a 71-run partnership. Meanwhile, the Australian all-rounder completed his half-century off 36 balls. Bumrah picked Stoinis after he was brought into the attack in 16th over. Stoinis played a knock of 65 off 46 balls including three sixes and six fours. Bumrah bagged Daniel Sams (0) too in the same over and almost confirmed the victory of the side. Patel scored 42 off 33 balls while Kagiso Rabada played an unbeaten knock of 15 runs as Delhi were only able to post 143/8 in their 20 overs.
For Mumbai, Bumrah bagged four wickets while Boult clinched two scalps. Earlier, Ishan Kishan and Hardik Pandya played knocks of 55 and 37 respectively as Mumbai Indians posted a total of 200/5 in the allotted twenty overs. Brief Scores: Mumbai Indians 200/5 (Suryakumar Yadav 51, Ishan Kishan 55*, Ravi Ashwin 3-29) defeat Delhi Capitals 143/8 (Marcus Stoinis 65, Axar Patel 42, Trent Boult 2-9, Jasprit Bumrah 4-14) by 57 runs.