IPL 2023, DC vs MI: MI win their first game; DC continue to suffer due to Warner's low SR

Updated: Apr 29, 2023

IPL 2023, Mumbai Indians (MI) vs Delhi Capitals (DC), Top Performances: Piyush Chawla’s 3-22, Axar Patel’s 54(25) and Rohit Sharma’s 65(45) are the top performances. MI beat DC by 6 wickets.

IPL 2023, DC vs MI, Top Performances: rohit Sharma, Tilak varma added 50-ball 68 against vs delhi | Walking wicket (Images_ ©IPL_Twitter) — Sharma & verify warma added 50-ball 68 against vs delhi | Walking wicket (Images_ ©IPL_Twitter)

Brief Scores: MI 173-4 (Rohit 65, Varma 41, Mukesh 2-30, Rahman 1-38) beat DC 172-10 (Axar 54, Warner 51, Chawla 3-22, Meredith 2-34) by 6 wickets

Player of the Match: Rohit Sharma (65 off 45)

Chalo Delhi! The 16th match of the enthralling 2023 IPL edition got underway on April 11 at Arun Jaitely Stadium where Delhi Capitals took on the five-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians. Prior to the fixture, both teams found themselves languishing at the bottom of the points table and were desperate to open their account in the ongoing IPL season.

MI restrict Delhi to 172; chase down target comfortably

Delhi Capitals made a very confident start but lost Prithvi Shaw in the initial overs. With Shaw back in the hut, David Warner and Manish Pandey carried on and took advantage of some feeble bowling that was on offer. However, with the introduction of Piyush Chawla, things took a turn for the worst as the home side lost Pandey, Powell and Lalit Yadav in quick succession reducing them to 98-5 inside 13 overs. Axar Patel walked in next and turned the tide by playing a fiery cameo of 54(25) to throttle his side to a competitive total of 172.

In response, Mumbai Indians teed off and blasted the opening bowlers of Delhi Capitals, putting the home side under a serious spot of bother early on. Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan showed no mercy as the duo piled up massive runs at a staggering rate, ending the powerplay with a score of 68-0. The conclusion of the powerplay brought about an immediate demise of Ishan Kishan as he was run out for 31. After gaining a sniff in the game, DC crawled their way back into the game and sneaked in some tight overs to bring the scoring rate down. But in the end, MI prevailed in a fairly close contest as Rohit Sharma scored a swashbuckling 65(45) to lead his side to their maiden victory this season.

Talking Points: David Warner’s poor strike rate and top-order failure

The Aussie batting stalwart has often found himself on the receiving end for not being able to score aggressively. Just like preceding games, Warner struggled to get going. He appeared rusty at the crease and his timing seemed to be all over the place. No big shots came off his bat as he played a painfully slow knock at a shocking strike rate of 108.51. As Warner progressed deeper into his innings, he was unable to pick the gaps and failed to use the long handle to good effect.

Besides, what’s more worrying to see is DC’s repetitive top-order failures. Lack of partnerships at the top seems to be a recurring pattern as most of the top three batters have found themselves being dismissed for single digit scores on numerous occasions.

Let’s scan the top performances from the game between DC and MI in IPL 2023

Piyush Chawla traps the Delhi batters into his web of spin

Just when DC looked all set to run away with the game, Chawla was brought onto the attack in a bid to stem the flow of runs. And he did remarkably well too. Not only did he bowl economically, he also chipped away with crucial wickets sending Pandey, Powell and Yadav back to the pavilion quite cheaply.

The 34-year-old spinner was getting a fair amount of assistance and certainly enjoyed bowling on this track. His well-disguised wrong ‘uns, coupled with his natural variations were too hot to handle for the DC batters as they fell one by one like a pack of cards. He ended his spell with figures of 3/22 conceding just a couple of boundaries.

IPL 2023, DC vs MI, Top Performances_ Axar Patel scored 25-ball 54 against Mumbai _ Walking wicket (Images_ ©IPL_Twitter) — Axar Patel scored 25-ball 54 against Mumbai (Images: ©IPL/Twitter)

Axar Patel’s blistering cameo with the bat

Axar Patel arrived at the crease when DC lost half their side and were beginning to lose their way. With a struggling Warner at the other end, the onus was on him to bail DC out of the precarious situation. Be it spin or pace bowling, Axar displayed his brute force with the bat as he was clobbering it to all parts of the ground. He raced away to his 50 in no time and offered his side a much required impetus to go ballistic in the death overs. His innings of 54(25) featured 4 boundaries and 5 sixes that came at a colossal strike rate of 216.

Rohit Sharma’s fireworks powers Mumbai to their maiden victory of the season

The MI skipper led from the front and dominated proceedings by making a mockery of the DC bowlers. He eventually managed to score his first half-century in 25 innings and that too in a scintillating fashion. He let his bat do the talking, and together with his partner at the other end, Sharma launched himself and piled up a lot of runs in the initial overs at record pace. His match-winning innings set the tone for MI as they were able to register a narrow victory in a nail biting thriller. His match winning knock of 65(45) featured 6 fours and 4 sixes.

IPL 2023, DC vs MI, Top Performances_ Rohit Sharma scores 44-ball 65 against Delhi _Walking wicket (Images_ ©IPL_Twitter) — Rohit Sharma scores 44-ball 65 against Delhi (Images: ©IPL/Twitter)

Points Table Scenario and What’s Next

Following Tuesday’s fixture, Mumbai Indians will breathe a sigh of relief as they finally succeeded in breaking their losing streak. They now move up to 8th spot and have bettered their net run rate (NRR) to -0.879. They will now host Kolkata Knight Riders at home in their next encounter on April 16.

The bad days for Delhi Capitals seem to continue as they are yet to register a single win in this tournament. They will remain at the bottom of the points table with a shambolic NRR of -1.576. They will head to Bengaluru to face Royal Challengers Bangalore in their next encounter on April 15.