In the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Saturday, Sameer Rizvi once again shone as an impact player, hitting 90 off 51 balls to help the Delhi Capitals defeat the Mumbai Indians by six wickets.
At the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi chose to field and restricted Mumbai to 162/6 on a sluggish track where timing was difficult and stroke-making dangerous.
Rohit Sharma scored 35 and Suryakumar Yadav top-scored with 51 while filling in for the injured captain Hardik Pandya, but only four sixes in an entire Mumbai session highlighted how difficult it was to clear the ropes.
Delhi easily won with 11 balls to spare after Rizvi overcame such conditions to smash his second consecutive half-century. Rizvi’s 51-ball blitz, which included seven sixes and an equal number of fours, resulted in Mumbai’s first loss of the season.
DC lead the standings, tied with Punjab Kings by four points but ahead in net run-rate.
Mumbai were reduced to 18/2 when Mukesh struck twice in the third over, dismissing Ryan Rickelton and Tilak Varma.
After the first six powerplay overs, Mumbai were reduced to 41/2, a testament to Delhi’s precise fielding and length discipline.
Rohit’s first six of the game, which also raised Mumbai’s fifty, brought relief in the seventh over. But just as the opener was about to break free, Axar Patel dismissed Rohit.
In the 15th over, Kuldeep Yadav gave up 17 runs, but the MI surge was stopped almost instantly when Lungi Ngidi trapped Suryakumar leg before wicket.
DC’s run chase got off to a slow start before opener Pathum Nissanka (44) launched a counterattack to take his team to 42/2 in the powerplay.
Nissanka was removed by Mitchell Santner, but Rizvi targeted the substitute bowlers, scoring 20 from a Corbin Bosch over and hitting Mayank Markande for consecutive sixes to put DC’s run chase back on track.
