Pollock shines; MI beat Delhi

MI made four changes to their playing eleven – Ajinkya Rahane, Manish Pandey, Dilhara Fernando and Pinal Shah made way for Yogesh Takawale, Dominic Thornely, Saurabh Tiwary and Rohan Raje.

DD made no changes to their playing eleven.

On winning the toss, Virender Sehwag, DD’s skipper, chose to field.

The first Powerplay of MI’s innings – which was the mandatory Powerplay – was between the first and the sixth over. They scored 50, and lost a couple of wickets.

Takawale, whose 20-ball innings included a couple of boundaries, scored 14. Thirty-four balls into the match, he was caught by Pradeep Sangwan. Yo Mahesh broke the 46-run stand.

MI scored 50 off 5.5 overs (35 balls). DD had conceded a couple of extras at that point.

Jayasuriya, whose 16-ball innings included half-a-dozen boundaries and a six, scored (Sana)thirty-four. A couple of balls later, Mahesh broke the four-run stand.

MI scored 100 off 12.3 overs (76 balls). The number of extras they had conceded at that point gave DD no reason to be in seventh heaven.

The third-wicket pair put on 50 off 40 balls. While Thornely’s contribution to the partnership was 24, Robin Uthappa’s contribution to it was 21. Extras’ contribution to the partnership was five.

Uthappa, whose 21-ball innings included half-a-dozen boundaries, scored 22. Seven overs after Jayasuriya’s dismissal, he was caught by Shoaib Malik. Sangwan broke the 52-run partnership.

Thornely, whose 24-ball innings included a couple of boundaries and as many sixes, scored 30. Three balls later, Rajat Bhatia was in seventh heaven.

Abhishek Nayar, who faced half-a-dozen balls, scored a couple. Eight balls later, Sehwag broke the three-run stand.

The sixth-wicket didn’t get off the mark. Dwayne Bravo, who faced four balls, scored a couple. A couple of balls later, he was caught by Mahesh off the bowling of Malik.

Tiwary, whose 10-ball innings included a boundary, scored nine. Twenty balls later, he was caught by Malik. Mohammad Asif broke the 24-run stand.

MI scored 150 off 18.5 overs (114 balls). DD had conceded 10 extras at that point. That was, incidentally, the number of extras they eventually conceded.

Shaun Pollock, MI’s skipper and the player of the match, scored 33. His 15-ball innings included a couple of boundaries and three sixes. Five balls after Tiwary’s dismissal, he was caught by A B de Villiers. Mahesh broke the 21-run stand.

Raje, whose five-ball innings included a boundary, scored half-a-dozen. He was unbeaten, as was Ashish Nehra, who didn’t face a ball.

MI scored 162 for the loss of eight wickets off 20 overs.

Glenn McGrath bowled four wicketless overs, conceding 26.

Malik and Sehwag bowled an over each, picking up a wicket apiece. While the former conceded half-a-dozen, the latter conceded a couple.

Bhatia bowled a couple of overs, conceding 22. He picked up a wicket.

Asif and Sangwan bowled four overs each, picking up a wicket apiece. While the former conceded 46, the latter conceded 21.

Mahesh, who bowled four overs, conceded 33. He picked up three scalps.

The first Powerplay of DD’s innings – which was the mandatory Powerplay – was between the first and the sixth over. They scored 37, and lost a couple of wickets.

Gautam Gambhir, who faced nine balls, scored just a run. Eleven balls into the chase, he was caught by Uthappa. Nehra broke the three-run stand.

Shikhar Dhawan, who faced three balls, scored a run. Three balls later, he was caught by Uthappa. Pollock broke the one-run stand.

The third-wicket pair put on 33. De Villiers, whose 17-ball innings included a couple of boundaries and a six, scored 21. Twenty-three balls later, Dhawal Kulkarni ran him out.

DD scored 50 off eight overs (49 balls). MI had conceded an extra at that point.

Sehwag, whose 20-ball innings included three boundaries and as many sixes, scored 40. Twenty-five balls after de Villiers’ dismissal, he was caught by Pollock. Thornely broke the 45-run stand.

DD scored 100 off 12.5 overs (78 balls). MI had conceded a couple of extras at that point.

Malik, whose 22-ball innings included a boundary, scored 24. Twenty-three balls after Sehwag’s dismissal, he was caught by Nayar. Pollock broke the 27-run stand.

Dinesh Karthik, whose 23-ball innings included three boundaries, scored 28. Twelve balls later, he was trapped leg before wicket by Bravo, who broke the 10-run stand.

Sangwan, who faced four balls, scored a couple. Seven balls later, he was caught by Tiwary. Nehra broke the 11-run stand.

The eighth-wicket pair failed to get off the mark. Bhatia, whose eight-ball innings included a six, scored nine. The next ball, he was caught by Uthappa off the bowling of Nehra.

Mahesh, who faced five balls, scored three. He was unbeaten.

Asif, who faced a ball, didn’t get off the mark. Four balls after Bhatia’s dismissal, he was caught by Nehra. Kulkarni broke the two-run stand.

McGrath, who faced a couple of balls, failed to get off the mark. Four balls later, he was caught by Thornely. Kulkarni broke the one-run stand.

MI eventually conceded four extras. DD, who were dismissed for 133 off 18.5 overs, lost by 29 runs.

Jayasuriya bowled an over, conceding 16. He was wicketless, as was Raje, who bowled three overs, conceding 13.

Thornely bowled a couple of overs, conceding 15. He picked up a wicket, as did Bravo, who bowled three overs, conceding 27.

Kulkarni bowled 2.5 overs, conceding 18. He picked up a couple of wickets, as did Pollock, who bowled four overs, conceding 16.

Nehra bowled four overs, conceding 25. He picked up three scalps.