Picture Credit: BCCI/IPL
Mumbai Indians beat Delhi Capitals on Saturday evening (May 21) in a highly-anticipated clash, with five wickets at Wankhede Stadium. Too many fielding errors and poor bowling from Delhi bowlers cost them their berth in the playoffs, and hence, let Bangalore seal the final playoffs spot in the IPL 2022. Top-notch bowling performances from Jasprit Bumrah and Daniel Sams set the perfect foundation for Mumbai, as both the bowlers orchestrated the downfall of Delhi's top-order.
Delhi had an unlikely start to the game as their top-order batters, David Warner (5 off 6), Prithvi Shaw (24 off 23) and Mitchell Marsh (0 off 1), were back to the pavilion inside the powerplay, reducing the team's total to 31/3 in 5.4 overs. Sarfaraz Khan (10 off 7) was another batter who could not do anything fancy in a must-win game. Rishabh Pant and Rovman Powell rebuilt Delhi's innings with their fifty-run partnership, but Ramandeep Singh ended Pant's knock, followed by Powell walking back at 43 due to Bumrah's toe wreaking yorker.
Delhi eventually finished their innings with 159 onboard as Mumbai bowlers refrained from conceding unnecessary runs in death overs. For Mumbai Indians, Ishan Kishan (48 off 35) and Dewald Brevis (37 off 33) played valuable innings after Rohit Sharma once again failed with the bat. Tilak Verma too came in handy in the middle-order with his 21 off 17, while Tim David's blistering 34 in 11 deliveries put Mumbai in a commanding position. Ramandeep Singh also showed his batting skills with a valuable 13 for six as Mumbai knocked off Delhi from the playoff race.
Changes in the points table
Mumbai's win left Delhi Capitals shocked and disappointed as they ended their IPL 2022 campaign at the fifth position, while Mumbai Indians, for the first time in IPL history ended up at the last of the points table. However, the result of the game was a blessing for Royal Challengers Bangalore, who will now face Lucknow Super Giants in the knock-out stage. Bangalore is now at the fourth spot in the points table with 16 points in 14 games.
What did the captains say?
Mumbai Indian skipper Rohit Sharma assured his fans that they would bounce back strongly and would undo the mistakes they made this season. "It was tough after losing eight games, so we needed to rectify the mistakes. But I think we performed well in the second half of the season," concluded Rohit. The skipper also wished good luck for all the top four teams for the playoffs.
On the other hand, Rishabh Pant looked disappointed with that loss and confessed that players failed to grab some valuable opportunities in the game and hence, ended up on the losing side. "It's hard, but we got to take it on our chin and learn from it," concluded Rishabh Pant in his last post-match presentation in IPL 2022.
Today's matchup
In the last league stage game, Sunrisers Hyderabad will face Punjab Kings on Sunday evening (May 22) at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Both the teams have had a disappointing season and would look to end on a high note.