Sameer Rizvi's masterclass: Delhi Capitals trump Mumbai Indians on tricky Kotla pitch
Sameer Rizvi's explosive 51-ball 90 powered Delhi Capitals to a commanding six-wicket victory over Mumbai Indians. The young batsman's fearless counter-attack on a challenging Kotla pitch secured a crucial win, propelling Delhi to the top of the standings. Rizvi's composure in tricky chases continues to impress.
NEW DELHI: Sameer Rizvi has finally arrived on the big stage, two years after being identified by IPL scouts. On Saturday evening, on a Kotla pitch that sucked the life out of the match, he injected adrenaline with a commanding 51-ball 90 as Delhi Capitals cruised past the 163-run target set by Mumbai Indians with 11 balls and six wickets to spare to go to the top of the standings. The 22-year-old Rizwan has now played the lead role in two consecutive tricky chases following his impressive performance against LSG earlier.
The afternoon started with the Delhi crowd going berserk after seeing Rohit Sharma taking guard. Capitals have been yearning for slower pitches since the last season to aid their spin trio of Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel and Vipraj Nigam. Rohit brought used all his experience to keep the scoreboard moving, with frequent boundaries, even as runscoring looked tough on the dry pitch.
The crowd roared with each boundary that Rohit hit till he was caught at extra-cover off Axar for 35 off 26 in the 10th over. Scoring became excruciatingly tough after Rohit’s dismissal even as Suryakumar Yadav grafted a 36-ball 51. The Capitals pacers relied on cutters while pegging away at a back of a length.
MI’s 162/6 looked like a challenging score before Capitals opener Pathum Nissanka went hard at the top of the chase to set it up for Rizvi to eventually bat MI out of the game. MI skipper for the match Suryakumar Yadav, standing in for an unwell Hardik Pandya, was lost for answers during the counter-attack. The crowd remained flat for much of the match before Rizvi took over once Nissanka departed for 44 off 30 balls, with the scoreboard reading 73/3 in the 10th over.