9 0 5 6 0 0. No, this isn’t a serial number. These were the scores of the top 6 batsmen of Delhi Daredevils while chasing a mere 143 against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede stadium.
The DD bowling attack showed tremendous discipline and vigour to bundle the home team for a score less than 150 and that too, on their home turf. However, their batsman couldn’t rise to the occasion and let MI take control of the match immediately after the second innings began.
Kagiso Rabada and Chris Morris tried to weather the storm and the latter even scored a half century. They pulled their team from a score of 24-6 to a total of 128-7. Though their heroics couldn’t save the day for the visiting team, it did manage to help them maintain their pride.
Whenever MI and Rising Pune Supergiant play on the same day, it bodes well for all the Maharashtra fans. While MI won their game even after posting a low first innings score, RPS chased down 176 against SRH at the MCA stadium in Pune. A monumental, classic finish from MS Dhoni against the best death bowling unit of the tournament was special, to say the least. He smashed an unbeaten 61 to silence his critics in style and take his side to victory.
Let us look at the leading run scorers and wicket-takers after both the matches.
| Position | Player | Matches | Innings | Runs | Average | Strike Rate | 100s | 50s | Highest |
| 1 | David Warner (SRH) | 7 | 7 | 282 | 56.4 | 129.36 | 0 | 2 | 76* |
| 2 | Nitish Rana (MI) | 7 | 7 | 263 | 43.83 | 139.89 | 0 | 3 | 62* |
| 3 | Brendon McCullum (SRH) | 6 | 6 | 258 | 43 | 150.88 | 0 | 2 | 72 |
| 4 | Manish Pandey (KKR) | 6 | 5 | 245 | 122.5 | 145.83 | 0 | 2 | 81* |
| 5 | Suresh Raina (GL) | 6 | 6 | 243 | 60.75 | 148.17 | 0 | 2 | 84 |
| 6 | Shikhar Dhawan (SRH) | 7 | 7 | 235 | 33.57 | 118.09 | 0 | 1 | 70 |
| 7 | Hashim Amla (KXIP) | 6 | 6 | 234 | 58.5 | 141.82 | 1 | 1 | 104* |
| 8 | Gautam Gambhir (KKR) | 6 | 6 | 229 | 57.25 | 137.95 | 0 | 2 | 76* |
| 9 | Sanju Samson (DD) | 6 | 6 | 224 | 37.33 | 142.68 | 1 | 0 | 102 |
| 10 | Jos Buttler (MI) | 7 | 7 | 213 | 30.43 | 156.62 | 0 | 1 | 77 |
| Position | Player | Matches | Wickets | Overs | Runs | 5 Wickets | Economy | Best Figures |
| 1 | Bhuvneshwar Kumar (SRH) | 7 | 16 | 28 | 176 | 1 | 6.29 | 5 for 19 |
| 2 | Mitchell McClenaghan (MI) | 7 | 12 | 28 | 243 | 0 | 8.68 | 3 for 24 |
| 3 | Chris Morris (DD) | 6 | 12 | 22 | 152 | 0 | 6.91 | 4 for 26 |
| 4 | Rashid Khan (SRH) | 7 | 10 | 28 | 195 | 0 | 6.96 | 3 for 19 |
| 5 | Imran Tahir (RPS) | 6 | 9 | 23 | 184 | 0 | 8 | 3 for 28 |
| 6 | Pat Cummins (DD) | 6 | 9 | 23.1 | 172 | 0 | 7.42 | 2 for 20 |
| 7 | Chris Woakes (KKR) | 6 | 7 | 20 | 199 | 0 | 9.95 | 2 for 30 |
| 8 | Amit Mishra (DD) | 6 | 7 | 17.5 | 136 | 0 | 7.63 | 5 for 17 |
| 9 | Andrew Tye (GL) | 3 | 7 | 12 | 85 | 1 | 7.08 | 5 for 17 |
| 10 | Jasprit Bumrah (MI) | 7 | 7 | 28 | 227 | 0 | 8.11 | 3 for 24 |
It took David Warner just a day to take back the Orange Cap from Brendon McCullum. He has been absolutely exceptional throughout the season and hasn’t disappointed one bit with the bat. Even though SRH lost yesterday, the team is a force to be reckoned with, thanks to Warner’s explosive batting at the top of the order and his strong captaincy.
While Bhuvneshwar Kumar is comfortable leading the Purple Cap race, the second and third places have been taken up by Mitchell McClenaghan and Chris Morris, thanks to the low-scoring match in Mumbai yesterday. Kumar is currently 4 wickets ahead of McClenaghan and is scalping at least a couple of wickets in every match. Overtaking him is going to be a tough challenge for the other 9 bowlers on that list!
Let us take a look at the points table and understand how yesterday’s game affected the teams’ positions
| Position | Team | Played | Won | Lost | No Result | Net run rate | Points | Last result | Next Opponent |
| 1 | Mumbai Indians | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0.617 | 12 | Beat DD by 15 runs | RPS |
| 2 | Kolkata Knight Riders | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0.709 | 8 | Lost to GL by 4 wickets | RCB |
| 3 | Sunrisers Hyderabad | 7 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0.481 | 8 | Lost to RPS by 6 wickets | RCB |
| 4 | Rising Pune Supergiant | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | -0.76 | 6 | Beat SRH by 6 wickets | MI |
| 5 | Delhi Daredevils | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0.848 | 4 | Lost to MI by 15 runs | KKR |
| 6 | Kings XI Punjab | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | -0.606 | 4 | Lost to MI by 8 wickets | GL |
| 7 | Royal Challengers Bangalore | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | -0.747 | 4 | Beat GL by 21 runs | KKR |
| 8 | Gujarat Lions | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | -0.769 | 4 | Beat KKR by 4 wickets | KXIP |
Mumbai Indians are sitting pretty at the top of the table and are almost certain to reach the playoffs now. Two more wins would most likely confirm their place in the top 4. KKR and SRH too, have one win more than the rest of the lot and have a good chance of making the playoffs. KKR, especially, have a strong chance, having played one match less than SRH. One win has helped RPS surge to the 4th spot. However, they need to perform well against MI in the next match to stay in that position.
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