Shikhar Dhawan’s 45 off 42 helped Delhi Capitals chase down the target of 138 runs. Dhawan could not hit the winning stroke but it was his innings that anchored the same for the Capitals. After quick dismissal of Prithvi Shaw, Dhawan led the chase and got supports from Steve Smith (33) and Lalit Yadav (22*). At the end 9-ball 14* from Shimron Hetmyer helped the Capitals win this crucial match against defending champions. But there were more reasons for Mumbai losing the match apart from the innings from Dhawan.
Team change
The first and foremost reason is the changes made by Delhi Capitals team. Delhi Capitals decided to drop Chris Woakes who was moderately successful in last matches. They brought in Amit Mishra and Shimron Hetmyer. Amit Mishra’s first IPL 2021 match against Chennai Super Kings saw him going without any wicket and giving away 27 runs in three overs. He was dropped after the match. However, the Capitals decided to show trust in the veteran in this crucial match on the turning Chennai track. He paid off with a match-winning performance. Hetmyer’s cameo at the end completed the chase. Opening the bowling with Marcus Stonis and Ravichandran Ashwin was impactful.
MI middle order collapse
The early wicket of Quinton de Kock was arguably the biggest blow for Mumbai Indians. There were a few contributions from Rohit Sharma (44), Ishan Kishan (26), and Suryakumar Yadav (24) from the top-order but Mumbai could not really overcome from the initial setback. The middle order surrendered to the Capitals bowling. Amit Mishra picked up four wickets whereas Avesh Khan took two important wickets including Suryakumar Yadav. Stoinis game the initial breakthrough by scalping de Kock in the third over of the match. Mishra got the wickets of Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, Ishan Kishan, and the all-rounder Kieron Pollard. Kagiso Rabada got one and even though Ashwin and lalit Yadav could not take any, they controlled throughout.
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