Suryakumar Yadav stars as Mumbai seal playoff spot with crushing win over Delhi

Suryakumar Yadav’s unbeaten 73 and a late flourish from Naman Dhir powered Mumbai Indians into the Indian Premier League playoffs with a commanding 59-run victory over Delhi Capitals at the Wankhede Stadium on Wednesday.

In a straight shootout for the final playoff spot, Mumbai posted 180-5 before dismissing Delhi for 121. Spinner Mitchell Santner claimed 3-11 in a miserly four-over spell, while pacer Jasprit Bumrah also struck three times to dismantle the visitors.

“I can throw them [Santner and Bumrah] the ball whenever I want,” said Mumbai captain Hardik Pandya. “They bring such control and perfection, which makes my job easy.”

Put in to bat, Mumbai recovered from a shaky start after Rohit Sharma fell for five, with Suryakumar anchoring the innings in a 43-ball knock laced with seven fours and four sixes. Dhir smashed 24 not out off eight balls, including 27 runs in the 19th over, as Mumbai plundered nearly 50 runs from the final two overs.

“We let it slip in the last two overs,” said Delhi stand-in skipper Faf du Plessis. “The way they counter-punched… we lost that momentum.”

Mumbai, five-time champions, now have 16 points and join Gujarat Titans, Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Punjab Kings in the playoffs beginning May 29.

(Source: AFP)