Romario Shepherd smashed 32 in the last over as five-time champions Mumbai Indians secured their first win of the season in the Indian Premier League with a 29-run victory over Delhi Capitals on Sunday.
Hardik Pandya's side ended their three-match losing streak and garnered a valuable two points, while Delhi fell to their fourth loss in five games.
Shepherd smacked 39 not out off only 10 balls – including 4-6-6-6-4-6 against Anrich Nortje (2-65) in the 20th over – to help Mumbai post an imposing 234-5. Former skipper Rohit Sharma top scored with 49 off 27, including six fours and three sixes, while Tim David hit a 21-ball 45 not out.
In reply, Delhi finished on 205-8, thanks largely to Tristan Stubbs’ 71 not out off 25 deliveries and opener Prithvi Shaw's 66 off 40. Pacer Gerald Coetzee took 4-34 for Mumbai.
After losing the toss, Mumbai made a fine start with Sharma and Ishan Kishan putting on 80 in seven overs.
Kishan scored 42 off 23 balls before left-arm spinner Axar Patel provided the breakthrough, bowling Sharma at the end of the seventh over. He put the brakes on Mumbai’s scoring, also sending back Kishan with a sharp one-handed caught-and-bowled dismissal.
Top T20 batter Suryakumar Yadav returned to action from a sports hernia injury but fell to a two-ball duck as Mumbai reached 111-3 in 10.2 overs.
Hardik scored 39 off 33 balls to stabilize the innings and put on 60 runs for the fifth wicket with David. Mumbai desperately needed some momentum towards the innings’ end when Shepherd arrived at the crease.
He smacked Nortje’s final over to all parts of the ground as Mumbai’s par total suddenly became a challenging one.
Shepherd continued this momentum with ball in hand as he then dismissed Delhi opener David Warner for 10 runs.
Shaw and Abhishek Porel added 88 off 49 balls for the second wicket to provide a platform to chase.
Playing on his home ground, Shaw hit eight fours and three sixes. Porel scored 41 off 31 balls. Jasprit Bumrah ended Shaw’s innings with a trademark yorker, bringing Stubbs to the crease.
Stubbs, who previously played for Mumbai Indians, smacked seven sixes to propel Delhi’s innings. But he missed support from the other end after Bumrah dismissed Porel. Coetzee sent back Rishabh Pant for just one, and Delhi’s innings came apart afterward as the new batters didn’t reach double digits.
Mumbai move up to eighth in the table. Delhi Capitals sit bottom of the 10-team competition.
In the late game, Lucknow Super Giants cruised to a 33-run victory against Gujarat Titans.
Marcus Stoinis top-scored with 58 runs off 43, while KL Rahul (33 off 31) and Nicolas Pooran (32 off 22) also chipped in with contributions as the home side reached 163-5.
In reply, Titans got off to a decent start as Sai Sudharsan (31 off 23) and Shubman Gill (19 off 21) took them to 54 for the first wicket.
But after Ravi Bishnoi dismissed Kane Williamson with a caught-and-bowled for just one run, Krunal Pandya (3-11) and Yash Thakur (5-30) made sure the visitors’ innings never gathered any momentum.
