Tim David and Romario Shepherd’s carnage in the last four overs meant Mumbai Indians kickstarted the Marathi New Year celebrations two days in advance by opening its account in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024.
Riding on David and Shepherd’s cameos, Mumbai Indians ensured Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan’s panache in the Powerplay was converted into a gargantuan total of 234 for five after being inserted into bat by Rishabh Pant at the Wankhede Stadium.
Despite Prithvi Shaw’s and Tristan Stubbs’ swashbuckling knocks, the Capitals finished its essay at 205 for eight, falling short by 29 runs. The difference, in the end, turned out to be the last over of both the innings.
#1AS IT HAPPENED: MI vs DC HIGHLIGHTS, IPL 2024
Shepherd, who took guard with 13 balls remaining, hammered Anrich Nortje for four towering sixes and two fours to amass 32 runs off the last over.
More than one that went out of the stadium through deep-square leg, it was his slash over covers into the stands that resulted in the full house going berserk.
Thanks to Shepherd’s onslaught, Nortje’s Protean counterpart Gerald Coetzee had the cushion of defending 33 runs in the last over. He picked three wickets for four runs, kickstarting a lap of honour to acknowledge 18,000 schoolkids who had been invited to watch the game.
#2CSK vs KKR, IPL 2024: Mustafizur, Pathirana likely to boost Chennai pace attack against Kolkata
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) pacer Mustafizur Rahman is likely to be available for the Indian Premier League clash against Kolkata Knight Riders at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium.
Mustafizur missed the match against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) as he had travelled to Bangladesh for a visa process, but is reportedly returning to Chennai ahead of Monday’s game. “Regarding Fizz (Mustafizur), we’re still not sure yet. His getting back here is not really in our hands as he’s flown back to Bangladesh for his passport. So, let’s see what happens. But as a team, we have to prepare for these eventualities,” CSK bowling consultant Eric Simons said during the pre-match press conference.
A bowling pattern has emerged in the ongoing IPL with bowlers taking the pace off the ball while using short balls to make it harder for the batters to get the timing right.
Case in point: the 13th over in the game against SRH, where Jaydev Unadkat bowled a slower bouncer to Shivam Dube, who had to wait for a solid second or two to hit it towards long off.
