DC vs MI: Rohit Sharma special scripts Mumbai Indians’ first win of IPL 2023

Rohit Sharma hit his first IPL half-century in nearly two years as Mumbai Indians defeated Delhi Capitals by 6 wickets at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Tuesday to secure.

Their first points of the 2023 Indian Premier League. DC have now lost all their four matches this season after they lost a last-ball thriller in front of their home crowd.

Delhi Capitals set Mumbai Indians 173 to win after contrasting fifties by David Warner and Axar Patel. It was a challenging total on a tricky Delhi pitch but Rohit Sharma bossed the chase with a classy 65. He got great support from his opening partner Ishan Kishan and then Tilak Varma as MI reached home off the final ball of the match.

Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan started rapidly in the chase as Mumbai Indians sought their first win of the season. Rohit took on Mukesh Kumar in the first over of the MI chase before Ishan smashed Mustafizur Rahman for three successive boundaries in the next over.

A change in bowling did little for Delhi Capitals as Rohit went after Anrich Nortje after he replaced Mukesh Kumar. Mumbai Indians had raced away to 42 for no loss by the end of 3 overs before David Warner turned to spin; Lalit Yadav did well, giving away only 7 runs, four of which came off Ishan Kishan’s edge.

Axar Patel who hit a 22-ball half-century to set up a respectable total for DC, came on to bowl in the 5th over but was given little respect as Rohit Sharma reverse swept him for a boundary to end another big over for Mumbai Indians. It was a sensational partnership – Mumbai Indians were comfortably placed at 68 for no loss at the end of the Powerplay and already looked poised for their first points of the 2023 IPL.

The dangerous opening partnership was broken the only way it could have been: a run-out. Ishan Kishan pushed a Lalit Yadav delivery to the off-side and Rohit Sharma called for a single; Ishan was late to respond and Lalit took the bails off after a collecting a good throw from Mukesh Kumar.

The mix-up and Ishan Kishan’s run-out did not stop Rohit Sharma’s onslaught and he brought up his first IPL half-century since April 23, 2021. It was a long wait but the innings was worth the long wait. His pull shot off Nortje for a six was perhaps the highlights of a knock studded with some stunning strokes. Rohit survived a close LBW appeal from Axar Patel and moments later but apart from a few balls, the MI captain was in sublime form.

Tilak Varma was sent in at No.3 and he was the perfect ally for Rohit Sharma on a difficult pitch. It needed special skills to score runs on that surface and score them at such a brisk rate.

Axar Patel was wicketless in his four overs but he was easily the pick of the DC bowlers. He had a superb all-round match; after a 25-ball 54, Axar gave away only 20 runs in his four overs.

Delhi Capitals managed to apply the brakes on the Mumbai Indians scoring rate but Tilak Varma hit a boundary and two sixes off Mukesh Kumar in the 16th over to bring his team closer to the target. But Mukesh struck back to remove Tilak and Suryakumar Yadav off successive balls as DC started to sense a way in.

Mustafizur then struck in the next over to remove Rohit Sharma who was brilliantly caught by wicketkeeper Abhishek Porel; MI who were cruising to victory at one stage, were suddenly in a tight spot. They needed 30 off 19 balls as Cameron Green joined Tim David, the Impact Player.

Cameron Green stayed cool and hit Mustafizur Rahman for two sixes in the penultimate over to bring the equation down to 5 off the final over for Mumbai Indians. It was a hard-earned victory for the five-time IPL champions and they had their captain to thank for leading them from the front in what was eventually a tense chase. MI needed two off the last ball and a desperate dive by Tim David kept DC winless after four matches in the 2023 IPL.

Rohit Sharma said he wanted to bowl after winning the toss because batting first in the two previous matches did not work for Mumbai Indians. The Mumbai Indians captain added he was aware of the due factor in Delhi later in the evening. However, Rohit might have been forgiven for double guessing his decision as Prithvi Shaw and David Warner raced away to a rapid start.

Rohit brought Hrithik Shokeen into the attack in an attempt to stem the flow of runs and the young off-spinner did just that. Prithvi Shaw has had a poor start to the tournament but he was looking at his best on Tuesday. That was short-lived as Hrithik Shokeen had him caught at backward square leg by Cameron Green. Rohit Sharma’s risky ploy paid off for Mumbai Indians but that dismissal brought together Manish Pandey and David Warner and marked the start of a solid partnership.

While David Warner decided to drop anchor, Manish Pandey took some risks and was even rewarded with four lucky runs off a big inside edge. The Pandey innings did not last for long but at least, it gave DC a move-on as their captain struggled to find the boundaries as regularly as he would have liked.

Manish Pandey was dismissed for a golden duck against Rajasthan Royals three days back and he was keen to make up against Mumbai Indians. Pandey hit a few crisp shots and hit an 18-ball 26, a very important cameo at that stage of the innings. Importantly, Pandey added 42 runs for the 2nd wicket with Warner whose strike-rate in the Powerplay was again a concern. Pandey was dismissed by MI leg-spinner Piyush Chawla who would go on to make another dent in the DC batting line-up.

David Warner’s cautious and curious approach also put pressure on debutant Yash Dhull who tried to hit Riley Meredith out of the park but was well caught by Nehal Wadhera in the deep. Soon after, Chawla struck again to dismiss Rovman Powell who reviewed an LBW decision but replays showed he was plumb infront. The veteran spinner had a terrific time on a slowish Delhi pitch and ended his spell with the wicket of Lalit Yadav to return fingers of 3 for 22 off his 4 overs.

Meanwhile, David Warner reached his 3rd fifty in 4 matches this season but it came off 43 balls. At the other end, Axar Patel who was sent in at No.7 again, came out and played a brilliant knock. In great form, Axar showed great intent and was ready to play the big shots to give the DC innings some momentum. Why DC would wait to send Axar Patel so low down the order is an interesting question but there is little doubt there are failing to make the most of a cricketer who is extremely confident of his batting capabilities especially after playing some gems for India.

Axar Patel dispatched Jason Behrendorff for successive sixes in the 17th over showed why exactly he should have come out to bat earlier; the second of those sixes unfortunately hit Suruakumar Yadav in the face and he needed immediate medical attention. Axar then turned his attention to Riley Meredith, hitting him for a four and six which brought up his half-century off only 22 balls. Axar Patel’s breathtaking innings was eventually ended by Behrendorff off the first ball of the 19th over. Two balls later, Behrendorff struck again to remove Warner.

The 19th over was all about a great comeback for Mumbai Indians. After Behrendorff removed both the half-centurions, Nehal Wadhera’s brilliant direct hit ran Kuldeep Yadav out at the non-strike’s end. And if that wasn’t enough, Behrendorff beat Abishek Porel with sheer pace to pick his third wicket.

Riley Meredith dismissed Anrich Nortje with a fast and straight delivery in the final over as the Delhi Capitals innings folded for 172, a score which seemed like a dream when then had been reduced to 98 for 5.