24 April,2015 11:16 PM IST | | Agencies
Delhi Daredevils ride on rollicking 154-run partnership between Shreyas Iyer and skipper Jean-Paul Duminy to end nine-game losing streak at Feroz Shah Kotla as they crush Mumbai Indians by 37 runs
Delhi: Delhi Daredevils ride on rollicking 154-run partnership between Shreyas Iyer and skipper Jean-Paul Duminy to end nine-game losing streak at Feroz Shah Kotla as they crush Mumbai Indians by 37 runs on Thursday.
Delhi Daredevils were always the favourites after having set Mumbai a difficult target of 191 to win.
Chasing a formidable target of 191, Mumbai managed only 153 for nine. With the win, Daredevils improved to six points from six matches, occupying the fourth spot.
The win also snapped Daredevils' nine-match losing streak at their home ground.
Mumbai succumbed to their fifth loss in six matches to drop to the last spot in the standings.
Mumbai's chase got an encouraging start through Lendl Simmons (15) and Parthiv Patel (28). But just when they were looking to increase the run rate, Simmons departed in the fifth over.
To make matters worse, Patel also went back to the pavilion, caught by South African Imran Tahir in the deep off the bowling of Sri Lankan Angelo Mathews.
With both the openers back in the hut, the momentum of Mumbai's batting vanished.
Leg spinner Amit Mishra inflicted further damage when he claimed the wickets of Unmukt Chand (14) and the dangerous West Indian Kieron Pollard (10) to reduce Mumbai to 82 for four in 10.2 overs.
Just as it seemed that Mumbai were losing the grip, skipper Rohit Sharma (30) and Ambati Rayadu (30) forged together a 49-run fifth-wicket partnership to resurrect the run chase, helping them reach 131 for five.
But an ever-increasing asking rate meant that they had attempt big shots, which accounted for the wicket of Rohit in the 16th over.
His dismissal triggered a collapse as Mumbai lost three more wickets in the next over of Tahir - the tournament's leading wicket taker - who accounted for Hardik Pandya (0), Rayadu and McClenaghan (0). That pretty much sealed the fate of the match.
Earlier, a superlative batting display from Iyer (83) and skipper Duminy (78 not out) helped Delhi Daredevils post a strong 190 for four.
The left hand-right hand combination of Iyer and Duminy batted authoritatively to put together a 154-run second-wicket partnership (off 97 balls) to lift the home team's morale after Mumbai won the toss and sent them in to bat.
They got an early reward when New Zealand pacer Mitchell McClenaghan dismissed Mayank Agarwal (1) off the third ball of the Daredevils' innings.
But that was the only joy for Mumbai as Iyer and Duminy controlled the proceedings from there on.
They set the tone for the Daredevils' batting, mixing caution with aggression. They set up a strong platform on which Daredevils could build a strong total.
Iyer was dismissed while trying to increase the run rate in the 17th over.
He hit seven fours and six sixes during his 56-bal stay, contributing 82 runs in his partnership with Duminy.After Iyer's departure, Duminy took over the mantle of brisk run-scoring.
He was ably supported in the endeavour by Sri Lankan Angelo Mathews (17 off 8 balls).
But Mathews' wicket, edging a McClenaghan delivery to wicketkeeper Partiv Patel in the 18th over, jolted their big hitting aspirations.
But Duminy still managed to pull Daredevils to their highest total in the tournament so far, tonking three boundaries and six huge sixes.
