Mumbai Indians (MI) suffered their sixth loss of the ongoing season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) after the Delhi Capitals schooled them by 10 runs at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. Chasing a daunting target of 258 runs, Mumbai Indians scored 247/9 during their run chase and fell short by 10 runs. Reflecting on his team's performance after the game, MI captain Hardik Pandya said that the players should have taken more chances in the middle order and the left-handed batters should have gone hard at left-arm spinner Axar Patel.
"This game is becoming more and more closer. It (the difference) used to be a couple of overs, now it’s becoming a couple of balls. Because of the kind of games and how the bowlers are under pressure, we backed ourselves to do it," Hardik told the broadcasters after the game, as quoted by Cricbuzz.
"If I had to pick something out, we could have taken a couple of more chances in the middle overs. The left-handers could have probably gone after Axar a little bit, it’s something we missed out in terms of game awareness," he added.
Tilak Varma kept hope alive in MI's camp
After MI's top three batters failed, it looked curtains for the team, especially with the sheer enormity of the target. Hardik played a quick-fire knock of 46 runs off 24 balls and stitched a partnership with Tilak Varma. With the game drifting away, Tilak launched a late assault but was run out on the first ball of the last over which dashed any hope of MI's miraculous win. Tilak departed after scoring 63 runs off 32 balls with the help of four fours and four sixes.
Jake Fraser-McGurk sizzles for DC
After being put into bat, Delhi Capitals began with a burst of energy as Jake Fraser-McGurk once again showcased his batting prowess. The right-handed batter reached his fifty in just 15 balls, continuing to dominate Mumbai Indians' bowling lineup. Fraser-McGurk was eventually dismissed for 84 runs off 27 balls, having hit 11 fours and 6 sixes.
Later in the innings, Tristan Stubbs took charge, aggressively pushing Delhi Capitals' total to 257/4 by the end of 20 overs. Stubbs finished not out on 48 runs from 25 balls.
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