“It was a picture of him, Maxi and Virat all in MI kit” - Tim David on cheeky message he received from Faf du Plessis ahead of MI vs DC IPL 2022 clash 

Mumbai Indians (MI) batter Tim David revealed that he received a special message from Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) captain Faf du Plessis on Saturday. It came ahead of Mumbai's IPL 2022 match against the Delhi Capitals (DC) at the Wankhede Stadium. The 26-year-old said that the message had a picture of RCB stars Glenn Maxwell, Virat Kohli and Du Plessis himself in the MI kit.

Five-time champions Mumbai were knocked out of the IPL 2022 playoffs race long back. However, they had to beat DC on Saturday for RCB to progress to the playoffs. David played a stellar role in Mumbai’s five-wicket win, smashing 34 in only 11 balls as his franchise chased down 160 with five balls to spare.

Speaking after the match, David opened up on his 'interaction' with his former franchise RCB. The big-hitting batter said:

“I got a message from Faf this morning. It was a picture of him, Maxi and Virat all in MI kit. Maybe I'll have to post to Instagram later.”

The batter admitted that it was good to finish a disappointing season with a victory. He asserted:

“It's nice to finish with a win. It's a good feeling. We got close the other night (against SRH). We can't ask for much more than to finish with a win.”

Ishan Kishan (48) and David were two of the chief contributors in Mumbai’s win, while Dewald Brevis also chipped in with a handy 37. Acknowledging Ishan’s inputs, the right-hander said:

“Ishan, as he walked off, he said to me, 'The wicket's gotten flatter.' So it was holding a little bit with the slower balls but you just have to hold your shape, back your game, keep it simple. I think there were a couple of baby sixes today so I got away with a couple. I think it's just about repetition and trying to hold your shape.”

The match was in the balance when Tim David walked into bat. However, he clobbered two fours and four sixes to effectively end DC’s IPL 2022 campaign.

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“I heard a noise but I wasn't sure” - Tim David on ‘nicking’ first ball

Things could have been drastically different for DC had they taken the DRS for a caught-behind appeal against Tim David off Shardul Thakur’s bowling. It was the first ball that the in-form MI batter had faced. Replays clearly showed a spike as the ball passed the bat. Asked about the lucky escape, David commented:

“I heard a noise but I wasn't sure. When there was no review, crack on. I didn't think I hit it at the time, I thought I hit my pad. But that's how I'm going."

David ended his IPL 2022 campaign with 186 runs in eight matches at an average of 37.20 and a sensational strike rate of 216.28.