Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma said their performance during the 57-run win against Delhi Capitals in the first Qualifier of this season’s Indian Premier League (IPL) as the “best so far”.
Pace duo of Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult on Thursday crushed Delhi Capitals to help Mumbai Indians in cruising into their second-consecutive and sixth overall IPL final.
“I guess this was our best so far. The way we came out with the intent. The way de Kock and Surya batted after we lost a wicket in the second over, the way we closed out, and then the clinical bowling. We never had any target in mind because we are a different team, and we want to play in a different way,” said Rohit at the post-match presentation ceremony.
“In T20 we always talk about momentum. We never want the momentum to shift towards the opposition. Ishan has been in great form so we wanted him to be positive. So the message was clear to him in the timeout. Please don’t be afraid to put the pressure back. Back your instinct,” he added.
The four-time champions thrashed Delhi Capitals by 57 runs in the first qualifier of IPL 2020 at the Dubai International Stadium. Delhi, though, will still have a chance to make it to the final when they face the winner of Eliminator 1 on Sunday.
After late exploits from Ishan Kishan (55 from 30 deliveries) and Hardik Pandya (37 off 14) ensured that Mumbai Indians put 200/5 on the board, Bumrah (4/14) and Boult (2/9) broke the backbone of Delhi’s batting unit.
Chasing the challenging 201-run target, DC endured their worst start of the season after losing openers out-of-form Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, and Ajinkya Rahane, all departing without troubling the scorers. While Boult accounted for the DC opener’s wicket, Bumrah trapped Rahane.
The New Zealander was at his best as well as he picked up 2/9 in just two overs before sustaining a minor injury which forced him out of the field.
“I have not seen Trent yet but he looks okay. It is a big game coming up but we just wanted him to be okay for the next game. He looks okay. I am sure he will be on the park on the 10th. When you have bowlers like Bumrah, it makes your life easy. And Bumrah and Boult are in top form. When they play for different countries and franchises, they have different plans. Hats off to them for buying into our plans and executing them so well,” he said.