Jasprit Bumrah earned hugs from a number of his Mumbai Indians teammates after returning his best figures ever in the IPL, as they booked their place in the final in the most comprehensive fashion possible.
The India fast bowler took 4-14 to deprive Delhi Capitals of even a scent of success in the first qualifier final at the Dubai International Stadium.
His haul took him to 27 wickets for the tournament, the most by an Indian in any IPL season, and set up a 57-run win for Mumbai.
“It was a perfect result for us,” Rohit Sharma, the Mumbai captain, said as he side look ahead to a sixth IPL final.
“We never had any target in mind, we just wanted to take it as it comes.
“The way we came out with that intent was great to watch, and the way we finished at the end was magnificent.”
The transformation from two days earlier, when they were thrashed by 10 wickets by Sunrisers Hyderabad in Sharjah, was total for Mumbai.
They came racing out of the blocks, from the moment Quinton de Kock caressed the first ball of the match straight back past Daniel Sams.
Rohit might have came and gone without scoring – his golden duck being the second failure in a matter of days since Mumbai’s captain returned from a hamstring injury.
But Mumbai’s progress scarcely abated. De Kock carried on swinging freely, while Suryakumar Yadav played arguably the most princely innings of a tournament that has been a personal triumph for him.
He was merciless. Ravichandran Ashwin, the Delhi spinner, has been doing a star turn for his side of late, having picked up David Warner and Virat Kohli in recent matches, then Rohit, De Kock and Kieron Pollard in this one. But even he looked lost against Suryakumar.
An 88-metre six he hit off Ashwin over extra cover was one of the most remarkable shots of the tournament. On social media, the former England captain Michael Vaughan feted him as “as good a player of spin as anyone in the world right now”.
Mumbai briefly slowed once Suryakumar fell to Anrich Nortje, but only to gather themselves for another charge in the late overs.
Ishan Kishan hit the last ball of the innings for six, taking his side to 200-5, and getting him to a fourth half century of the season in the process.
No matter how good Delhi had been in the middle overs, the start and end damaged them. Mumbai made 63 from their first six overs.
At the end, Kishan and Hardik Pandya shared a brutal unbroken stand worth 60 off 23 deliveries. Pandya hit five of the 14 balls for six – he did not hit one four – as he made 37 not out.
Hardik’s assault reached its zenith when he slammed a second consecutive six off Kagiso Rabada straight into the LED screen square of the wicket that was proclaiming the bowler as the tournament’s purple cap holder.
Bumrah leapt above the South African in the wicket-taking charts, though, with his sparkling return, as Delhi’s return amounted to just 143-8 from their 20 overs.
It was not exclusively good news for the defending champions, though. Trent Boult had led the way for his new ball colleague Bumrah with a remarkable double-wicket maiden at the start of Delhi’s reply.
He spent much of the innings off the field injured, though, and it is as yet unclear whether he will be fit to take up his place in the XI for the final next Tuesday.
Delhi will get another shot at reaching the final, when they play the second qualifier final against the winner of Friday’s eliminator match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Royal Challengers Bangalore.
“It was very tough,” Shreyas Iyer, Delhi’s captain, said.
“I don't want to talk anything negative about the side, but going forward we have to make sure we come out with a solid mindset.”
