Wednesday 6 May 2015 00:00, UK
Mumbai Indians beat Delhi Daredevils by five wickets to move into the play-off spots in the Indian Premier League.
Chasing 153, Ambati Rayadu (49 off 40 balls) helped Mumbai to the win, well-supported by Rohit Sharma (46 off 37) and Kieron Pollard (26 off 14).
Harbhajan Singh (2-11) had earlier impressed, his economical four-over spell helping restrict Delhi to a manageable total despite Yuvraj Singh’s 57 off 44 balls.
Delhi won the toss and chose to bat first but got off to a bad start as Lasith Malinga (2-33) picked up Mayank Agarwal first ball, top-edging to Parthiv Patel behind the stumps.
The Daredevils’ in-form captain, JP Duminy, counter-attacked with three fours and two sixes in a 19-ball 28 but his wicket – an over after Shreyas Iyer (19) fell in a wicket-maiden from Harbhajan – handed the momentum back to Mumbai.
Harbhajan picked up his second wicket – Kedar Jadhav (16) stumped by Patel – in the final over of his terrific spell, to reduce Delhi to 78-4 in the 12th.
The Daredevils needed a sizeable score from their star-man Yuvraj and he delivered, with his fifty containing seven fours and a pair of sixes – the last of which saw him to his half-century.
He was gone an over later – in the penultimate over of the innings – falling to a terrific catch from Lendl Simmons at point off Malinga, as Delhi reached 152-6 from their 20 overs.
Zaheer Khan (1-32) trapped Simmons for a first-ball duck in Mumbai’s reply, mirroring the start of Delhi’s innings.
Nathan Coulter-Nile (2-30) also picked up the wicket of Hardik Pandya for five shortly before a thunderstorm stopped play after four overs with Mumbai struggling at 8-2.
Play resumed for just eight balls until rain drove the players off the field again, but not before Angelo Mathews (1-33) and Coulter-Nile added the wickets of Patel and Harbhajan.
That’s as good as it got for Delhi though as Sharma and Rayudu put on 60 runs for the fifth wicket.
There were 53 runs still needed with less than five overs left when Sharma was the one to fall, chopping Amit Mishra (1-25) onto his stumps, but it brought Kieron Pollard to the crease, and he hit a couple of huge sixes in a 14-ball 26 to help fire Mumbai to the win with three balls to spare.
