IPL 2017 : MI beat DD by 14 runs

The biggest noise at the Wankhede, the venue of last night's Mumbai Indians-Delhi Daredevils game, was reserved for MS Dhoni. Yes, you have read that right.

That is how it went. The night was still young, the lights had just been lit and the crowd were trickling in to settle on their seats. The giant screen, at that point, was showing the Pune-Hyderabad game being played elsewhere and the crowd suddenly were on its feet.

As Dhoni went after the Hyderabad bowlers, loud cheers and chants of 'Dhoni, Dhoni, Dhoni' reverberated. It reached a crescendo when he pulled off the last-ball win.

It was as if the crowd had got their money's worth even before the match, for which they had actually come, had begun. The Mumbai-Delhi game was bonus although it was no less exciting. Just that it did not have a hero like Dhoni.

Mumbai found solidity in a few batsmen (Kieron Pollard, Jos Buttler and Hardik Pandya) and penetration in a couple of bowlers (Mitchell McClenagha and Jasprit Bumrah) and that was enough for them to cross the line keeping the juggernaut rolling.

Mumbai managed to turn what should have been a convincing win into a thrilling result, but it nevertheless fetched them two crucial points. Delhi, chasing 143, were always the underdogs once they had slumped to 6/24. Kagiso Rabada and Chris Morris revived the chase but they could not hit the big shots when needed. They lost by 14 runs.

The result has kept Mumbai at the helm of the IPL points table. With six wins in a row, they are not very far from clinching the



play-off berth. Two more wins in the next seven games should seal their place in the last four.

There was nothing to crow about Mumbai's batting. A side that had chased down 199 in less than 16 overs only the other night struggled to put bat on ball yesterday. There was sure some purchase for the bowlers but it was not a 142 pitch, a score that the Mumbai batsmen huffed and puffed to reach. But for two phases of tiny and yet crucial partnerships - between Parthiv Patel and Jos Buttler (37) in the beginning and between Kieron Pollard and Hardik Pandya in the end (36 for the sixth wicket) --Mumbai would have struggled to reach even 142.

Mumbai bowlers had different ideas.

There was good carry for the pacers and good turn for the spinners but the ball was still not difficult to hit. But Mumbai first and Delhi later struggled with the bat. Pollard and Pandya hit some big blows, something Delhi too needed in the final overs. But Rabada and Morris were not Pollard and Pandya. They added 91 for the seventh wicket but could not tackle the yorkers of Bumrah and the pace of McClenaghan.

The equation for Delhi was somewhat like Pune faced earlier in the day, 42 in three overs and 30 in two overs. But Delhi's batsmen were not as classy and cool as Dhoni is. They needed 25 in the final over and managed just 10. Because, Delhi did not have a Dhoni to take them home.

Brief Scores

Mumbai Indians 142 (J Buttler 28; A Mishra 2/18) beat Delhi Daredevils 128/7 (C Morris 52*, K Rabada 44; McClenaghan 3/24, JBumrah 2/21) by 14 runs