IPL 2020: Twitter erupts as MI thrash hapless DC by 57 runs and cruise into final

MI beat DC by 57 runs to make their 2nd successive IPL final (Credits: IPLT20.com)

Jasprit Bumrah’s best bowling figures in this IPL season and an all-round batting performance helped the Mumbai Indians (MI) progress to the IPL 2020 final after beating the Delhi Capitals (DC) by 57 runs in the Qualifier 1 at the Dubai International Stadium on Thursday.

DC will get another chance to qualify for the final when they play in the Qualifier 2 at Abu Dhabi on Sunday. They will face the winner of Friday's Eliminator, which features the Sunrisers Hyderabad and the Royal Challengers Bangalore.

After Shreyas Iyer won the toss and opted to field first, Ravichandran Ashwin got DC off to the start they were hoping for by dismissing MI captain Rohit Sharma in just the 2nd over with 16 runs on the board.

Quinton de Kock and Suryakumar Yadav launched a counter-attack with aplomb in a bid to resurrect the innings. While de Kock didn’t veer from top gear, Yadav’s purple patch with the bat continued as they helped MI reach 63 for 1 at the end of the mandatory field restrictions.

While they successfully negated the threat of Axar Patel, Ashwin (3 for 29) was once again the wrecker-in-chief as he accounted for de Kock (40 off 25) to break the 62-run second-wicket stand. Things went from bad to worse for the defending champions, as both Yadav (51 off 38) and Kieron Pollard perished in the space of 3 deliveries to leave them in dire straits at 101 for 4 in the 13th over.

Krunal Pandya – who came in at No. 6 – seemed to be playing the perfect second fiddle to Ishan Kishan when part-timer Marcus Stoinis dismissed the senior Pandya brother for a 10-ball 13. Hardik Pandya came out to join the well-set Ishan Kishan, and what followed was complete mayhem.

The pace trio of Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, and Daniel Sams were all plundered for runs as MI scored 92 runs for the loss of 1 wicket in the last 6 overs. While Pandya hit 5 sixes en route to an unbeaten 14-ball 37, Kishan (55 not out off 30 balls) smashed his 4th IPL 2020 fifty to stitch together a partnership of 60 runs off 23 balls and power MI to 200 for 5.

Chasing 201 to secure a place in their first-ever IPL final, DC got off to the worst possible start as Trent Boult (2 for 9) and Jasprit Bumrah reduced them to 0 for 3. It soon became 40 for 5 in the 8th over as Shreyas Iyer (12 off 8) and Rishabh Pant (3 off 9) wilted in the face of some high-quality bowling.

Marcus Stoinis (65 off 46) and Axar Patel (42 off 33) put together 72 runs off just 44 balls for the sixth wicket to instill some life into the run-chase. However, Bumrah (4 for 14) came back for his second spell and broke the partnership to send MI into the IPL 2020 final. At the end of the innings, DC had managed just 143 for 8 from their 20 overs.

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