New Delhi, April 12 (Representative) Rohit Sharma’s half-century (65) and Tilak Verma’s knock of 41 runs helped Mumbai Indians to register their first win of the IPL 2023 on Tuesday. They opened their account in the points table by defeating Delhi Capitals by six wickets.Delhi set a target of 173 runs before Mumbai with the help of half-centuries from Axar Patel (54) and David Warner (51). Mumbai achieved this target on the last ball to register their first win of the season. Delhi lost five wickets for 98 runs, but Axar took over the innings in the last overs. He scored his first half-century of the IPL and shared a valuable 67-run sixth-wicket partnership with skipper Warner, helping the hosts reach a respectable score before being bowled out. Rohit and Tilak shared a half-century for the second wicket to bring Mumbai very close to victory, but Delhi brought back the excitement in the match by taking three wickets within four runs. When Mumbai needed 20 runs off 12 balls, Mumbai added 15 runs against Mustafizur Rahman in the 19th over. Enrich Noortje conceded just three runs off the first four balls of the last over, but Tim David played the last ball towards mid-off to steal two runs to give Mumbai the win.Rohit started Mumbai’s innings aggressively from the second ball.
He added 14 runs in the first over hitting Mukesh Kumar for a six and two fours. Ishan Kishan supported him well from the other end and hit Mustafizur Rahman for three fours in the second over. The fearless attitude of the duo saw Mumbai reach 68 runs in six overs, their highest score in the Powerplay this season. After the powerplay, the spinners troubled Kishan and he was run out under pressure after scoring 31 runs off 26 balls. It took some time for Tilak Verma to find his stride, but Rohit continued his batting class and completed a 29-ball half-century. Tilak also opened his arms at the other end and shared a 68-run partnership with Rohit for the second wicket.The partnership took Mumbai closer to victory, although the match saw a turning point with three wickets falling in a span of four runs.Mukesh Kumar dismissed Tilak and Surya Kumar Yadav (0) on the fifth and sixth balls of the 16th over. Mustafiz returned the pavilion to Rohit Sharma in the next over. After Rohit’s dismissal, the onus was on Tim David and Cameron Green to give Mumbai a win. Both hit Mustafiz for a six in the 19th over. David got a life on the second ball of the last over when Mukesh dropped his catch at short mid-on. David then took two runs off the last ball to take Mumbai to the target. Mumbai won the toss and elected to bowl first and Delhi looked aggressive in the opening overs. Skipper Rohit Sharma bowled the fourth over to Hrithik Shoukin in search of a wicket and he dismissed Prithvi Shaw (15) to give Mumbai their first win.
Mumbai’s spinners did not give Warner an opening, but Manish Pandey, who came in to bat at number three, played some good shots and took Delhi to 51 at the end of the powerplay. Manish and Warner shared a partnership of 43 runs for the second wicket which was broken by Piyush Chawla by dismissing Manish. Manish scored 26 runs off 18 balls with the help of five fours. Piyush also dismissed Ruman Powell and Lalit Yadav after dismissing him, while debutant Yash Dhol fell victim to Riley Meredith. Warner stood like a rock amidst the constant falling wickets and was supported by Akshar from the 13th over. Warner continued to struggle but Akshar played an aggressive role in the partnership. He also got life in the 15th over off Hrithik when Suryakumar Yadav at long-on failed to catch him.Mumbai had to pay for it as Axar put on a crucial 67-run partnership with David Warner in an innings of 54 off 25 balls with the help of four fours and five sixes. Delhi reached a score of 165 in 18 overs, but Behrendorff dismissed Axar on the first ball of the 19th over to set up a flurry of wickets. Behrendorff also dismissed Warner (47 balls, 51 runs) and Abhishek Porel after Axar, giving just one run in that over, while Kuldeep Yadav was run out. Riley Meredith bowled Anrich Nortje off the fourth ball of the 20th over to end Delhi’s innings. Piyush was Mumbai’s best bowler and took three wickets for just 22 runs in four overs. Behrendorff also took three wickets for 23 runs in three overs while Meredith got two wickets and Hrithik Shokeen one wicket.