Mumbai Indians clinch first win of the season with dominant performance against Delhi Capitals

MUMBAI: Hardik Pandya-led Mumbai Indians celebrated their first win of the season, bringing joy to fans. Mumbai defeated Rishabh Pant's Delhi Capitals by 29 runs.

Batting first, Mumbai scored 234 runs for the loss of five wickets in the allotted 20 overs. In pursuit of the target, Delhi Capitals lost David Warner's wicket early, scoring only 10 runs off 8 balls. However, Prithvi Shaw's 66 off 40 balls and Abhishek Poral's contribution of 88 runs for the second wicket provided some hope for Delhi. Rishabh Pant, disappointed with just 1 run off 3 balls.

Former Mumbai player Tristan Stubbs showcased a stellar performance for Delhi, scoring a blistering half-century off just 19 balls, amassing 71 runs not out from 25 balls, including seven sixes and three fours. Despite Stubbs' efforts, Delhi fell short of the mammoth target, managing to score 205 runs for the loss of eight wickets in their 20 overs.

Opting to bat first after losing the toss, Ishan Kishan and Rohit Sharma provided a rapid start for Mumbai, scoring 42 off 23 balls and 49 off 27 balls, respectively, putting up 80 runs in seven overs for the opening partnership. Both players struck five sixes and ten fours combined. However, Suryakumar Yadav's brief appearance yielded no runs, as he was dismissed for a duck off two balls.

Thilak Verma was dismissed quickly after scoring 6 runs off 5 balls. Hardik Pandya contributed 39 runs off 33 balls, while Tim David remained unbeaten on 45 runs off 21 balls, guiding Mumbai's innings forward. However, it was Romario Shepard's explosive batting in the last over, scoring an unbeaten 39 runs off just 10 balls, including four sixes and two fours, that propelled Mumbai to a formidable total of 234 for five in their 20 overs.