Krunal Pandya special helps Mumbai Indians rise up to third spot

A blistering knock from Krunal Pandya and a disciplined bowling effort helped Mumbai Indians register an 80-run win against Delhi Daredevils, by virtue of which they moved up to the third position in the points table. Asked to bat first in their final Indian Premier League (IPL) 2016 home game, at Visakhapatnam, Mumbai Indians posted a mammoth total of 206 for four, thanks to Pandya's 37-ball 86 and his 98-run association with Martin Guptill (48) for the second wicket.

In reply, Daredevils kept losing wickets at regular intervals and were eventually bowled out for 126, which saw them move out of the top four. Jasprit Bumrah was the pick of the bowlers, finishing with fine figures of three for 13, while Pandya capped off a superb day with two wickets.

Daredevils, who went in with a spin-heavy attack, opened the bowling with Shahbaz Nadeem. The left-arm spinner had Rohit in two minds right from the start, with the ball gripping and turning. But the Mumbai Indians skipper counter-attacked with a four and a six to take the scorecard forward. After a tight over from Chris Morris, Zaheer Khan, returning after a break of two games, brought himself on and had the opening pair in some trouble.

Krunal Pandya special helps Mumbai Indians rise up to third spot

It was yet again a sedate start for Mumbai Indians before Guptill and Rohit took on Morris, scoring a six apiece in the fourth over. While Zaheer continued keeping things tight at his end, Nadeem's re-introduction for the sixth over saw him going for 12 runs, including a six over mid-wicket for Rohit, as Mumbai Indians ended the powerplay with a run-rate of 7.5.

The opening stand, which was in the double-digits only for the third time for Mumbai Indians in the season, came to an end when Rohit fell to Amit Mishra in the seventh over. Guptill then managed a few boundaries off Mishra and Imran Tahir, while Pandya, promoted up the order to take on the leg spinners, did not take too long to get going. He picked a wrong 'un from Mishra to launch it over long-on for a six and also hit a four in the same region off the Indian leggie. Tahir too didn't seem effective against the left-handed Pandya, who helped Mumbai Indians reach 84 at the halfway stage of their innings. 

Apart from the boundaries, Pandya and Guptill also ran well between the wickets as they raised a half-century stand off 30 deliveries. The New Zealand batsman, essaying the role of an anchor, decided to take on Tahir in the 13th over, scoring two sixes in succession, the first of which took Mumbai Indians past the 100-run mark. 

Krunal Pandya special helps Mumbai Indians rise up to third spot

The South African leg spinner was having an off-day as Pandya too took a liking to him, hitting a four and a six off consecutive deliveries in the same over, which yielded 23 runs. Pandya soon registered his maiden IPL fifty, taking just 22 deliveries to get there, when he hit a four and a six off successive deliveries from Nadeem in the 14th over. Guptill though, fell two short of the fifty-run mark when his attempt to go after Zaheer did not pay off, as he found Karun Nair at long off. The second-wicket stand, which was Mumbai Indians' second highest this season, also ended two short of hundred.

Guptill's departure had no bearing on Pandya, who continued his demolition job of the Daredevils bowlers. With a four and two sixes, all coming in successive deliveries off Mishra in the 16th over, Pandya powered Mumbai Indians past 150.

His stay though, came to an end in the 18th over when he was bowled by Morris, but not before he equalled Dinesh Karthik for the highest individual score for Mumbai Indians against Delhi Daredevils. Morris also picked up the wicket of Pollard in the same over, a lap shot going awry for the West Indian all-rounder. Daredevils' respite, however, was short-lived. A few lusty blows from Ambati Rayudu and Jos Buttler helped Mumbai Indians post a 200-plus total for the first time in IPL 2016. Tahir, with four wicket-less overs for 59 runs, registered the most expensive figures for a spinner in the IPL.

The chase did not begin on a bright note for the Daredevils as Mayank Agarwal, who scored a six off Harbhajan Singh in the opening over, chopped a Vinay Kumar delivery onto the stumps. Quinton de Kock let loose an array of big shots that got the visitors going. An authoritative pull off Mitchell McClenaghan gave de Kock his first six and that was followed by an 19-run over by Vinay, who was hit for three fours and a six off consecutive deliveries by the wicketkeeper-batsman. Daredevils though, suffered another setback in the form of Karun Nair, who fell to Harbhajan in the fifth over, ending a brisk partnership worth 35 runs off 19 balls. An economical over from Bumrah followed, which left Daredevils one short of the fifty-run mark at the end of the powerplay.

Krunal Pandya special helps Mumbai Indians rise up to third spot

Wickets at important junctures of the game meant that Daredevils found it tough to string together useful partnerships. They saw one more go down when Sanju Samson, after a mix-up with de Kock, was run out at the non-striker's end. Rishabh Pant, who came in next, went over long-off against Harbhajan for a six. Daredevils then suffered a huge setback as De Kock was given out caught behind off Pandya for a 28-ball 40, leaving the visiting side at 81 for four at the end of ten overs. 

Pant and JP Duminy tried to build a partnership to keep Daredevils in the hunt, but like the previous ones, this pair too flattered to deceive. Duminy tried to swing across the line to a Bumrah delivery, but could only manage a top-edge which was held by Buttler. Pant followed soon, bowled in the same over as Daredevils slipped further in the chase. Bumrah, who was on a hat-trick with those two dismissals, did not pick one, but he accounted for Mishra to bag his third scalp. Morris departed in a short while, run out for 20, while Tahir too fell in a similar manner. Pandya wrapped up the game by dismissing Zaheer as Daredevils suffered a thumping loss that moved them down to fifth in the points table.

Brief Scores: Mumbai Indians 206/4 in 20 overs (Krunal Pandya 86, Martin Guptill 48; Chris Morris 2-34, Zaheer Khan 1-23) beat Delhi Daredevils 126 in 19.1 overs (Quinton de Kock 40, Rishabh Pant 23; Jasprit Bumrah 3-13, Krunal Pandya 2-15) by 80 runs.

Krunal Pandya special helps Mumbai Indians rise up to third spot