IPL 2023, DC VS MI: Mumbai Edge past Delhi in a Cliffhanger

IPL 2023, DC VS MI: Another day, another final over the finish in the IPL 2023, with Mumbai Indians (MI) prevailing in match number 16th of the 2023 IPL season against Delhi Capitals (DC). MI avoided the hattrick of defeats by beating DC by six wickets in a game that went down to the last ball at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi on Tuesday, April 11.

Pushed into batting first, Delhi was off to a steady start by racing to 29/0 in the first three overs. Prithvi Shaw was looking in great touch as he smashed a couple of beautiful boundaries off MI bowlers. But Shaw again after getting to a start, fell to Hrithik Shokeen after sweeping straight to square leg. Manish Pandey came in at 3 and intended to up the scoring rate and maximize the power play which he did as DC finished with a fifty-plus score in the powerplay for the loss of just a solitary wicket. After the strategic time, Pandey holed out to long-off in the Piyush Chawla’s over. In the next over, Yash Dhull, playing his first IPL game, could last only four balls in the middle.

More trouble followed Delhi as Chawla’s googly trapped Rovman Powell plumb LBW in the 11th over and then in the 13th over, the veteran leggie outfoxed Lalit Yadav with another googly. Vice-captain Axar Patel joined Warner and the duo shared a crucial 67-run stand after the Capitals were tottering on 98/5. Axar was the aggressor in the partnership, having struck at 216.00. At the back end, DC lost wickets in clumps but still managed to put up a fighting total.

IPL 2023, DC VS MI: Mumbai Holds Nerves to Seal Last Over Win against Delhi

In reply, Rohit and Kishan got Mumbai Indians off to a flying start with the former taking the aggressive route. He attacked DC’s impact player Mukesh Kumar and then their pace spearhead Anrich Nortje to kickstart the proceedings with the bat. On a slow, low track like the other night, it was important for the batters to maximize the field restrictions before the spinners came to operate and MI openers did exactly that. 

Rohit and Kishan added 71 with Ishan Kishan (31) being the first one to depart. Once the left-handed batter got out,  the pair added 68 with Tilak Varma, who hit four sixes and a boundary in his 41 off 29 balls. When things were going right for MI, that’s when the game-changing over was bowled by Mukesh Kumar. He dismissed Tilak and Suryakumar Yadav on consecutive deliveries in the 16th over.

Mustafizur Rahman dismissed well-set Rohit Sharma for 65 (45) to derail the run chase within a seven-ball period and this brought the home team back into the contest. Although they lost some wickets in a cluster during the run chase, the efforts from their top three made sure to take them over the line. Tim David and Cameron Green were calm and composed to complete the hard-fought win off the final ball as MI finally got off the mark.