Krunal Pandya’s dynamic outing in the middle saw Mumbai Indians comprehensively beat Delhi Daredevils at Vishakhapatnam. Pandya, promoted at number 3, set off from the word go and his big hits were a treat to the eyes. The all-rounder had a field day in the middle as on the back of his 86 off just 37 deliveries, Mumbai Indians amassed 206 on board. Pandya’s knock included 6 sixes and 7 fours. He was quite merciless towards the spinners.
The Daredevils, on the other hand, had a complete off day as the batting department seemed to be in no frame to chase the massive total down. Barring a start from Quinton De Kock, none of the batsmen got themselves in to set up a foundation. Jasprit Bumrah had a fantastic outing as he picked up 3 wickets while conceding just 13 runs in his 4 overs. The 80 run loss will surely hurt the Daredevils’ chances of qualifying for the playoffs.
In the post-match presentation, Zaheer Khan admitted that his side lacked the third spinner. “Yes, 200 is always tough to chase. Having said that, it was a tough day for the bowlers. Off day for us as a bowling unit. Credit to Rohit for taking on the spinners early and didn’t let us execute our bowling plans. We lacked a third spinner to attack when Pandya was going. He played well and their plan came off well,” said Khan.
Khan, though, maintained that he would urge his boys to stay positive for their remaining games. “We want to stay positive. We have this young energy and that is key, especially at the back end of this tournament. 3 games is enough to win 2 out of 3. The advantage is that we play home games at Raipur and the trick will be to win the next one,” said Khan.