Mumbai achieve record margin in crushing defeat of Daredevils
Mumbai Indians crushed Delhi Daredevils by 146 runs, the largest margin of victory in the IPL
Mumbai Indians crushed Delhi Daredevils by 146 runs, the largest margin of victory in the IPL
Commentator: Alagappan Muthu
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Lendl Simmons is the Man of the Match for his 66 off 43 balls. "I think I've been practicing hard. I've been hitting the gym, keeping my fitness up, waiting for the opportunity. It came today and I took it in both hands. I'm good as a replacement player, it's been good for me. Batting in the Powerplay and with Parthiv is always good. My game plan is to see off the first two overs and then back my shots. At first it was a bit slow, but dew came on, and then the shots were easy to play. Batting with Pollard is good, we are accustomed playing together. We didn't have a total in mind, we just had a mind towards keeping the run-rate up and not losing wickets at crucial times."
"Clinical from the start. I think the opening stand set the game up for us. Lendl coming back after a long time, playing that way was amazing. And Polly, a brilliant finisher. Great performance by the bowlers as well and to win by 146 runs is huge," Rohit Sharma says, "It gives us confidence, knowing our bench strength is strong. We always had a lot of faith in Lendl and he showed us why he is one of the best. Never in two minds, always went for his shots. A player like that gives a lot of freedom to the other guys. With a lot of dew on the ground, we expected a tighter game. But the way we bowled our first six overs was brilliant. Result of our hard work over the last three four weeks, we have prepared well, we were clear in our minds. That clarity has been helping us. It's good to know we've qualified. But the work doesn't stop here. Next up is Sunrisers in Hyderabad. Credit to Jonty, he's helped us in the field. Good to take the catches and help the bowlers out."
"Nothing much you can do. When I was on the field, I felt that they batted well. We had our plans, we started well, we stuck to the plan, but the partnership between Lendl and Pollard took the game away from us," Zaheer Khan says, "It's tough to restrict a team in this sort of wicket and once the target is over 200, you have to go after it. Last game, you saw our fearlessness. We went after the bowling today as well, but couldn't keep up. 190 was a good target. The dew was going to help us. But some days you can't put a finger to the loss. We have to stay positive, we have to regroup, we have a slight break. But its all about winning games, playoffs is still possible."
11.07 pm Mumbai are the first team to qualify for the play-offs this season. Meanwhile, Delhi Daredevils, in three of their last four games, have totalled 68 all out, 214 for 3 and 66 all out - now their lowest total in history. Clearly they think cricket is a black and white game without any room for grey.
Delhi are not out of the tournament yet - with three matches left, they can still make the finals if they win all of them. That is the only solace they have after their young batting line-up was flummoxed by bowling and bowlers of the highest quality in T20 cricket. Mitchell McClenaghan started with a wicket first ball. Lasith Malinga followed suit. Harbhajan Singh was on song too, even strutting out his doosra. Daredevils were totally outclassed.
Z Khan c Rana b KV Sharma 2 (11m 11b 0x4 0x6) SR: 18.18
Delhi Daredevils will count on the momentum from two thumping victories as they host table-toppers Mumbai Indians
Lendl Simmons, playing his first game of the season, and Parthiv Patel added 76 runs in 52 balls after a slow start to set a strong base for Mumbai Indians' 212, a total they defended by 146 runs
Zaheer Khan said he would not fault his batsmen's approach in their disastrous chase on Saturday night; they were just doing "what had been working" for them, but this time it didn't come off
Mumbai Indians crushed Delhi Daredevils by 146 runs, the largest margin of victory in the IPL
Sent up the order to counter spin and tackle the short boundaries, the West Indies allrounder made a seamless transition and bullied Delhi Daredevils