IPL 2017: MI vs DD, SK Turning Point, Mitchell McClenaghan runs riot by picking 3 wickets to reduce Delhi to 21/4

Mitchell McClenaghan’s performances have been erratic this season. He conceded more than 40 runs thrice while on two occasions, bowled at an economy of 6 or under.

With Malinga out of form, Mumbai Indians expected McClenaghan to have a decent outing today and after posting only 142 runs on the board, a lot depended on the start the Kiwi pacer provided.

McClenaghan came to bowl after Hardik Pandya’s heroics sent back Aditya Tare in the first over. The left-arm fast bowler began by pitching the ball full and reaped rewards on his second ball itself.

Sanju Samson, Delhi’s highest run scorer so far this season, drove one straight into the hands of Rohit Sharma who was stationed at mid-off and Delhi lost their second wicket with the score at 10. Off the remaining four balls, McClenaghan conceded a boundary but also delivered three dot balls to keep the pressure intact.

Extra Cover: IPL 2017: MI vs DD, 5 things that went wrong for Delhi Daredevils

After conceding only five runs in his first over, the Kiwi continued in his second over and picked up two more wickets. On the third ball of the fourth over, he strayed down the leg side. A wide ball by all means. However, for Shreyas Iyer, the temptation was too much and he swung his bat to run the ball towards fine leg. However, he only managed to feather it into Parthiv Patel’s gloves to make the scoreboard read 20 for 3.

Later in the same over, the Mumbai Indians fast bowler won the duel against his fellow countryman, Corey Anderson. Wary of Anderson’s off side strength, McClenaghan didn’t offer any room and operated with a tidy line, aiming at the stumps.

The left-handed Delhi batsman successfully defended two deliveries but the third ball got the better of him and sneaked through his defences to crash into the pads. The umpire took no time to raise his finger and Delhi Daredevils slumped to 4 for 21.

The Kiwi’s spell ensured Mumbai regained the upper hand in the contest

In his first spell of two overs, McClenaghan picked up three big wickets and gave away only seven runs.

Mumbai Indians couldn’t have expected a better start while defending 142 runs. By getting rid of three prime batsmen and keeping the score in check, the New Zealand pacer brought his side back into the contest and pushed Delhi to a corner.

The horrendous start was too much for Delhi to digest and they further slipped to 6 for 24 after seven overs. Rabada and Morris pumped life back into the contest by stitching a vital partnership of 91 for the seventh wicket.

However, the pair failed to keep up with the asking rate and Rabada fell in the 19^th over as the required run rate climbed to 15 runs per over. Morris slammed a courageous half century but he couldn’t prevent his side from losing the match by 14 runs.

Mitchell McClenaghan was adjudged the Man of the Match as his bowling at the top was instrumental in making a match out of this small total.

McClenaghan’s devastating spell in numbers

• #1 This is the lowest score (23/5) in the power play for Delhi in this edition of IPL. Their previous lowest was against RCB in their first match of the tournament when they scored only 43 runs in six overs.
• #2 This is the first instance this year when Delhi’s top six batsmen all failed to reach double figures.
• #3 In the powerplay overs, Delhi managed only three boundaries. This is also their lowest of this season. Against RCB, they had scored only five fours inside the first six overs.