DREAM11 IPL 2020, FINAL: MI VS DC – MATCH REPORT

10 November 2020

Rohit Sharma led from the front while Trent Boult starred with the ball as Mumbai Indians (MI) beat Delhi Capitals (DC) by five wickets in the Dream11 Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 final in Dubai on Tuesday and clinched their fifth IPL title. Needing 157 runs to win the final, MI were off to a flying start as Rohit, who completed 4000 IPL runs for MI, and Quinton de Kock attacked from the word go, taking MI to 45/0 after 4 overs. However, their partnership was broken after de Kock was dismissed by Marcus Stoinis. Suryakumar Yadav replaced de Kock in the middle and announced his arrival in style, creaming a four and a six on the first two balls he faced before MI marched to 61/1 after the end of powerplay. While DC bowled two tight overs, Rohit went after Pravin Dubey in the ninth over, hitting the leg-spinner for two sixes. The MI skipper then completed 3000 IPL runs as captain as MI moved closer to 90 at the halfway stage of the chase. MI though lost Surya in the 11th over following a mix-up in the middle with Rohit. Rohit then notched up his third half-century of the season and took MI past the hundred-run mark in the 12th over. Ishan, who had joined Rohit in the middle after Surya’s fall, continued his good run of form as he zoomed to 26 off 15 balls at the end of the 16th over. While Anrich Nortje and Kagiso Rabada picked three wickets, including that of Rohit, Ishan Kishan took the team home with 8 balls to spare. Earlier, MI made one change to their playing XI as Jayant Yadav replaced Rahul Chahar. Meanwhile, DC retained the team which took the field in Qualifier 2. MI were off to a cracking start as Trent Boult struck on the first ball, dismissing Marcus Stoinis, who edged one to the wicketkeeper. The left-arm pacer picked his second wicket in his next over as Ajinkya Rahane was strangled down the leg side. MI introduced spin into the attack in the fourth over and the move worked straightway as Jayant Yadav got Shikhar Dhawan out after the left-hander missed his slog-sweep. DC needed Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant to do a rebuilding job and the two delivered when their team needed it in the all-important final. While Iyer got a life in the sixth over after Ishan Kishan, despite his brilliant effort in the field, could not complete a difficult catch, he and Pant took DC past 40. The two added 18 runs in the next three overs before Pant clobbered two sixes off Krunal Pandya as the two completed a 50-run stand, taking DC closer to 80 after the end of 10 overs. DC brought up their hundred in the 14th over before Pant completed a fine counterattacking fifty in the next over. However, the DC wicketkeeper got out in the same over after being holed out at fine-leg off Nathan Coulter-Nile’s over. Two overs later, Iyer hit two fours and completed his third fifty of the season before Boult, bowling his final over of the night, picked his third wicket of the match, dismissing Shimron Hetmyer. While Iyer remained not out on 65, DC eventually posted 156/7 on the board. Brief Scores: Mumbai Indians 157/5 (Rohit Sharma 68, Ishan Kishan 33*; Anrich Nortje 2/25) beat Delhi Capitals 156/7 (Shreyas Iyer 65*, Rishabh Pant 56; Trent Boult 3/30) by five wickets

DREAM11 IPL 2020, QUALIFIER 2: DC VS SRH – MATCH REPORT

8 November 2020

Marcus Stoinis, Shikhar Dhawan and Kagiso Rabada played pivotal roles as Delhi Capitals (DC) beat Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by 17 runs in Qualifier 2 of the Dream11 Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 in Abu Dhabi on Sunday to set up a final showdown against Mumbai Indians. After putting up 189/3 on the board on the back of Dhawan’s 78, Hetmyer’s 42 and Stoinis’ 38, DC limited SRH to 172/8 to make it to their first ever IPL final. Needing 190 runs to win, SRH suffered a big blow as Kagiso Rabada dismissed David Warner in the second over. While Manish Pandey and Priyam Garg counterattacked to take SRH to 36 after the end of the fourth over. But Marcus Stoinis struck twice in the fifth over to dismiss both the batsmen. First, he disturbed the timber to get Garg out and then had Manish caught at mid-on. SRH were in need of a partnership and Kane Williamson and Jason Holder did just that to bring some stability to the SRH chase. The pair added 46 runs together. But just when it looked that the two were looking to up the ante, Axar Patel struck to get Holder out in the 12th over. Abdul Samad then joined Williamson in the middle before SRH crossed the 100-run mark in the 13th over with a six from Williamson. The two put up a solid fight to keep SRH’s hopes alive. Young Samad went after Nortje in the 15th over, hitting the speedster for two fours and a six before he and Williamson scored 10 runs in the 16th over to bring down the required target to 51 runs from 24 balls. Although Rashid Khan and Samad teamed up to hit two sixes and a four in the next eight deliveries, Rabada’s three-wicket over ended SRH’s hopes. The right-arm pacer had Samad caught after his 16-ball 33-run blitz and then dismissed Rashid and Shreevats Goswami before DC restricted SRH to 172/8 to seal a win. Earlier, DC, who elected to bat, made two changes to their team as Shimron Hetmyer and Pravin Dubey replaced Daniel Sams and Prithvi Shaw. SRH, meanwhile, retained the same playing XI. Marcus Stoinis was promoted at the top of the order with Shikhar Dhawan and the duo made a watchful start. Stoinis got a life in the third over after Jason Holder could not complete a catch at short mid-on and he made SRH pay immediately, hammering five fours and a six in the course of next nine balls as DC got a move on. Dhawan joined the party as he hit three fours and a six in the next two overs as he and Stoinis powered DC to 65/0 at the end of the powerplay. SRH were desperately looking for a breakthrough and Rashid Khan provided them with one as he ended Stoinis’ 38-run innings in the ninth over. In the next over, Dhawan brought up his fifty and DC moved past 100. But SRH managed to keep the things tight in the next over four overs, conceding 24 runs, and that helped them fetch a wicket as Shreyas Iyer got out for 21. Dhawan was then joined by Shimron Hetmyer in the middle. The two added 32 runs in the next three overs before hammering 18 runs in the 18th over, hitting four fours. However, Dhawan got out in the 19th over after scoring a fine 78 as DC eventually posted 189/3 on the board. Brief Scores: Delhi Capitals 189/3 (Shikhar Dhawan 78, Shimron Hetmyer 42*; Rashid Khan 1/26) beat Sunrisers Hyderabad 172/8 (Kane Williamson 67, Abdul Samad 33; Kagiso Rabada 4/29) by 17 runs

DREAM11 IPL 2020, MATCH 55: DC VS RCB – MATCH REPORT

2 November 2020

Delhi Capitals (DC) sealed a place in the Qualifier 1 as they beat Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by six wickets in Match 55 of the Dream11 Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Monday. Meanwhile, RCB, despite the defeat and because of their NRR, made it to the playoffs and joined DC and Mumbai Indians in the top four. RCB, who were also eying a place in the playoffs, had to make sure that DC did not chase down the target in 17.3 overs and their bowlers did the job, denying DC a chance to cross the finish line before the 17.3-over mark. Needing 153 runs to win, DC lost Prithvi Shaw for 9 in the second over as Mohammed Siraj disturbed the timber. Shikhar Dhawan and Ajinkya Rahane though denied RCB any immediate success as the two scored at a brisk pace to take DC past fifty at the end of the powerplay. The pair did not take any undue risks but made sure to keep the scorecard ticking as their side reached 81/1 at the halfway stage of the chase. A couple of overs later, Dhawan, who was coming into this game on the back of a few scores following four successive fifty-plus knocks, including two tons, completed his fifty. However, the left-hander got out in the 13th over off Shahbaz Ahmed’s bowling. Rahane though continued his good work and completed his 28th IPL fifty as DC moved past 120 after 15 overs. While DC lost Shreyas Iyer and Rahane in the 17th and 18th over respectively, Rishabh Pant and Marcus Stoinis made sure that DC registered a win and with it, a place in the top two. Earlier, DC, who elected to bowl, made three changes to their team as Ajinkya Rahane, Axar Patel and Daniel Sams replaced Harshal Patel, Pravin Dube and Shimron Hetmyer. Meanwhile, RCB brought back Shivam Dube. DC bowlers kept things tight as RCB openers – Josh Phillipe and Devdutt Padikkal – could only score 25 from the first four overs. The pressure applied by DC helped them get their first wicket as Phillipe got in the fifth over as Kagiso Rabada struck on his first ball of the night. Virat Kohli announced his arrival in the middle with a gorgeous cover drive in the sixth over before RCB moved past fifty in the eighth over. The RCB then skipper got a life in the 10th over after Anrich Nortje could not complete the catch. Kohli then creamed a four and a six as he and Padikkal completed a fifty-run stand in the 12th over. However, just when it looked like Kohli was looking to shift gears, he got out after Marcus Stoinis completed a fine catch off R Ashwin’s bowling. While Padikkal brought up his fourth half-century of the season and RCB brought up their 100 in the 15th over, RCB lost Padikkal and Chris Morris in the next over as Anrich Nortje struck twice in the space of three deliveries. RCB needed a few big hits to get a move on and Shivam Dube and AB de Villiers scored 28 from the next 10 balls as RCB moved past 140. But DC denied RCB a big finish as Rabada dismissed Dube on the final ball of the penultimate over. In the final over, ABD, going for a second run to keep the strike, was run out as DC limited RCB to 152/7. Brief Scores: Delhi Capitals 154/4 (Ajinkya Rahane 60, Shikhar Dhawan 54; Shahbaz Ahmed 2/26) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore 152/7 (Devdutt Padikkal 50 AB de Villiers 35; Anrich Nortje 3/33) by six wickets

DREAM11 IPL 2020, MATCH 54: KKR VS RR – MATCH REPORT

1 November 2020

Eoin Morgan led from the front while Pat Cummins starred with the ball as Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) beat Rajasthan Royal (RR) by 60 runs in Match 54 of the Dream11 Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 in Dubai on Sunday and kept their playoff hopes alive. Defending 191, KKR conceded 19 runs on the first five balls. But then, KKR turned it on with the ball. Cummins had Robin Uthappa caught on the final ball of the first over. Cummins, bowling his second over, picked two big wickets as RR lost Ben Stokes and Steve Smith. While Stokes got out after Dinesh Karthik toon a one-handed stunner, Smith dragged one back onto the stumps. Shivam Mavi gave KKR their fourth wicket after he had Sanju Samson caught behind the wickets before Cummins, bowling his third over in the powerplay, picked his fourth wicket, dismissing Riyan Parag with a short ball. Jos Buttler and Rahul Tewatia then added 43 runs together but Varun Chakravarthy broke the partnership after Buttlerm who scored 35, was holed out in the deep. While Tewatia put up some fight and scored 31, Chakravarthy dismissed the left-hander soon after RR moved past 100. KKR eventually restricted RR to 131/9 to complete a comprehensive 60-run win. Earlier, RR, who elected to bowl, retained the same playing XI while Andre Russell and Shivam Mavi returned to KKR’s playing XI, replacing Lockie Ferguson and Rinku Singh. Jofra Archer struck in the first over as Nitish Rana got out without troubling the scorers. Shubman Gill and Rahul Tripathi though counterattacked to power KKR to 55/1 after the end of the powerplay. But RR broke the second-wicket partnership between the two after Tewatia got the wicket of Gill in the ninth over. The leg-spinner picked one more in the same over as Sunil Narine got out for zero. RR continued to chip away as KKR then lost Tripathi and Dinesh Karthik just before the team could reach the 100-run mark. KKR though managed to regain the momentum as Russell and Morgan added a quickfire 45 off 18 deliveries. While Russell had moved to 25 in no time and looked set for a big one, he got out in the 16th over. Morgan, who had earlier hammered two sixes and as many fours in the 14th over, then took it upon himself as he went after his England teammate Ben Stokes in the penultimate over, clobbering three sixes and a four to take KKR past 180 and complete his first fifty of the season. The left-hander hit another six in the final over to move to his career-best IPL score of 68 and powered KKR to 191/7. Brief Scores: Kolkata Knight Riders 191/7 (Eoin Morgan 68*, Rahul Tripathi 39; Rahul Tewatia 3/25) beat Rajasthan Royals 131/9 (Jos Buttler 35, Rahul Tewatia 31; Pat Cummins 4/34) by 60 runs