IPL 2018, MI vs DD: 3 MI players who flopped against DD

Delhi Daredevils clashed against Mumbai Indians at the iconic Feroz Shah Kotla. Electing to bat first, Delhi Daredevils got off to a flying start thanks to their openers Prithvi Shaw and Glenn Maxwell. But the batsmen departed in quick succession and Delhi Daredevils were struggling at 38-2 in 4.3 overs. The in-form batsman Rishabh Pant again resurrected the innings and he scored 64 runs off just 44 deliveries.

Vijay Shankar and Abhishek Sharma struck few lusty blows in the end to propel Delhi Daredevils to a good total of 174/4 in the 20 overs. Jasprit Bumrah was the pick of the bowlers for Mumbai with 1/29 in 4 overs.

In reply, Mumbai got off to a flying start by scoring at more than 9 runs per over within the powerplay and were comfortably placed at 57-1 in 6 overs. However, the game changed dramatically post the powerplay as leg spinners Amit Mishra and Sandeep Lamichhane spun a web around the Mumbai batsman and 3 wickets fell in the span of 3 overs. Both the leggies picked up 2 wickets each to reduce Mumbai Indians score to 5-78 in 9.4 overs. Skipper Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya added 43 runs for the 6th wicket but Delhi kept pegging away with wickets at regular intervals.

Ben Cutting hit few sixes but he was holed out in the deep with 12 needed off 4 balls. In the end, Mumbai were all out for 163 losing the game by 11 runs.

This loss meant Mumbai Indians were out of the tournament and Delhi Daredevils ended their campaign on a happy note despite finishing last in the table.

In a game that ebbed and flowed let us look at 3 players from Mumbai Indians who failed to step up to the occasion in an important fixture.

---

#3 Rohit Sharma

The skipper of Mumbai Indians had an off day at the office and sadly it was on a day that his team needed to win to qualify for the playoffs. It all started with Rohit Sharma getting injured on the final ball of the 19th over trying to hold on to a catch. He injured his left shoulder and as a result, he had to leave the ground for treatment.

While chasing, Rohit Sharma came out to bat at No 5, which is very unlikely of him. He came in in a situation, in which Mumbai Indians were struggling at 74/3 in 11 overs with a required run rate of 9.18. Mumbai Indians further lost 2 quick wickets and the onus was on Rohit Sharma to play a captain’s knock to take his team through.

Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya resurrected the innings to some extent by scoring runs at a brisk pace and keeping up with the run-rate. Rohit struck 2 boundaries in the 14th over of the bowling of Trent Boult and Mumbai Indians were back in the game.

#2 Kieron Pollard

Kieron Pollard came into this game on the back of a 50 against Kings XI Punjab a few days back. However, it was a different story in this game as he completely looked out of sorts in the 7 deliveries he faced while batting.

He was promoted to number 4 to resurrect the innings and take the innings forward without much game. Amit Mishra picked up the wicket of Ishan Kishan on the first ball of his spell and he tossed up a googly that confused the West Indian batsman.

He followed it up with another googly, which was not picked by Kieron Pollard and it almost knocked the off stump. On the third ball, he edged one that went away after pitching but luckily for Pollard it was not caught by the slip fielder Prithvi Shaw.

Kieron Pollard got another reprieve as he was dropped by the fielder at backward point in the 8th over of the bowling of Plunkett. Pollard’s misery finally ended when he struck one full pitched delivery of Lamichhane straight down to long-on fielder (Maxwell), who caught the ball right at the boundary and threw it to the long-off fielder (Boult) to complete the catch.

Pollard couldn’t adjust to the pitch and couldn’t make it big despite having 2 of his catches dropped and this inning has to be considered as a flop.

#1 Ishan Kishan

Ishan Kishan has made a name for himself for his attacking stroke play and big-hitting reputation. He has had a decent tournament with good performances and few match-winning knocks here and there. Today was an ideal occasion for the left-handed wicket-keeper batsman to become a hero by playing a match-winning knock to take his team through to the playoffs.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t the case for the 19-year-old as he failed to capitalize on a wonderful opportunity. The teenager walked in to bat when Mumbai Indians were 1-12 in 0.4 overs. He faced some hostile bowling from Trent Boult in the 2nd over. He couldn’t score a run in the 5 deliveries he faced from Trent Boult in the 2nd over.

He got off the mark in the 3rd over off the bowling of Glenn Maxwell by dabbing one to the long-on region. Ishan Kishan couldn’t rotate strike and neither could he score the boundaries which prompted Evan Lewis to go after the bowling. Although this move paid off, the pressure was on Ishan Kishan to get on with the scoring.

By the end of 6 overs, Mumbai Indians were 57/1 and Ishan Kishan was batting on 5 off 12 deliveries. Amit Mishra was brought on to bowl the first over after the power play. The leg spinner tossed one up to which Ishan danced down the ground to hit it straight to the fielder at the long-on region. Vijay Shankar completed a neat catch and the young left-hander was dismissed on the first ball after the powerplay.

His innings not only let him down but it opened the doors for Delhi Daredevils as they ran through the middle order by picking up further 3 wickets in the next 4 overs.

Safe to say, Ishan Kishan was the biggest disappoint of the match as he failed to live up to his calibre and couldn’t deliver when his team required him the most.