Delhi Capitals was finally able to end their recent poor record against Mumbai Indians on Tuesday. Rishabh Pant’s men chased down a fairly low target of 138 runs in the 19th over against Mumbai. Courtesy of this win, Delhi Capitals moved up to second in the table. Mumbai’s second defeat in IPL 2021 meant that their net run rate took a hit, but they remain fourth.
It was another low-scoring affair in Chennai on Tuesday, but it was a one-sided game as Delhi dominated Mumbai in all aspects of the game. Even though the game went in the final over, Delhi was favourites to clinch victory for major parts of the match. Here are some essential takeaways from the game between two exciting teams of IPL 2021.
Mumbai’s batting unit continues to make cheap mistakes
Mumbai Indians have managed to win two games this season, but those victories have been down to some outstanding bowling in the death overs. The batting line-up is yet to join the party as they continue to struggle on the slow wicket in Chennai.
In the last couple of games, one thing is clear that Mumbai has nailed the approach in powerplay overs on this pitch. On Tuesday, they were off to a superb start despite losing Quinton de Kock early in the innings. However, the defending champions continue to make the same mistakes in middle overs. One set batsman fails to play longer innings, while new batsmen try to go gung-ho from ball one, which is near impossible on this pitch. Mumbai still has few games to play in Chepauk before moving to Delhi, so Rohit Sharma’s men need to start rectifying these mistakes.
Rishabh Pant continues to show immense composure as captain
Rishabh Pant made some glaring mistakes against Rajasthan Royals last week, but the young wicketkeeper has bounced back brilliantly in the last two games. Pant made some brave calls when Delhi was on the field to put pressure on the opposition.
Even though Amit Mishra was expensive in the first over, Pant brought him at the right time to halt Mumbai’s momentum. He also got field placements spot on for most of the innings and never lost his cool when his team was on the receiving end in powerplay overs. Pant is likely to make errors in IPL 2021 since he is a young captain and this is his first stint. However, one thing is certain that he will have a much more composed approach in the field even when things are not going his way.
Delhi once again shows immense depth in the squad
On Tuesday, Delhi once again proved that they are the biggest threat to Mumbai Indians in IPL 2021. The defending champions had an off day, but mistakes were extracted from them on Tuesday by some clever changes in bowling set up by Delhi. Bringing Amit Mishra in the squad on the slow pitch of Chennai was a masterstroke.
Last season, Delhi lacked the quality depth to shuffle the squad depending on pitches. However, they are a much more well-rounded team in IPL 2021 due to the return of few injured players and some quality additions during the auction. They are missing Shreyas Iyer, but there is enough quality in the squad to compensate for his absence.