Mumbai Indians v/s Delhi Capitals
Delhi Capitals (DC) was defeated by the Mumbai Indians (MI) in the 27th match of the IPK2020 on 11th October 2020, by 5 wickets in the Sheikh Zayed Stadium of Abu Dhabi. For MI, Suryakumar Yadav was a star. He scored 53 off 32 balls and ensured that the required run-rate was in check while chasing. Quinton de Kock scored quick runs and made fifty in the powerplay after the early dismissal of Rohit Sharma.
DC was restricted by the MI to 162 runs for 4 wickets. Opener Shikhar Dhawan managed to play through the innings. Could not manage many runs. He scored only 69 runs in 52 balls. Krunal Pandya and JaspritBumrah were economical with 6.5 in their 4 overs.
Shikhar Dhawan batting was conservative:
The team of Delhi Capitals was a little worried about the middle and the lower order as Hetmeyer and Pant was out and Carey was making his debut in IPL and due to this Dhawan might have decided to bat with caution, especially after the 2 early wickets.
The low strike rates of Dhawan are different as compared to those of KL Rahul. Rahul seems to be playing within himself this season. Dhawan, on the other hand, has a limited range of shots and can be easily contained by owling that is good. The execution and the planning of the MI against Dhawan were excellent. They managed to keep the ball away from his strong zones.
DC was kept quiet by Rahul Chahar and Krunal Pandya:
Iyer is known to go for sixes against ant kind of spin bowling. As Dhawan is a left-hander, he should be able to thrive against the left-hand spinners and also the leg spinners. Chahar is a leg spinner, and Pandya is a left-arm spinner.
Chahar and Krunal bowled the bulk of their overs to these batsmen and finished with a combined figure of 2 for 53 in 8 overs. They conceded only 3 boundaries between them.
This was possible as DC had a cagey approach through the overs in the middle but also due to the bowling. Chahar bowled to Dhawan from over the wicket and managed to angle the ball across him and away from the hitting arc that was natural to Dhawan. To Iyer, Chahar bowled slightly short of a length and quickly. This made it hard for him to go over the top. This was with the long boundaries in Abu Dhabi.
Krunal, on the other hand, bowled back of a length and also into the stumps.
Iyer decided to go big but only in the 15th over. He managed to hit Krunal for a four. This left-hander decided to back to shorter lengths and also straighter lines for the balance left of the over. This made it difficult for Iyer.
Did the Capitals use their Fielders in the Apt Positions?
The answer is ‘no’ as Shaw who is not the fleetest of the fielders, was stationed in the so-called ‘hot-zones’.
