Royal Challengers Bangalore made it into the playoffs by the barest of margins after Delhi Capitals failed to win their last game against the Mumbai Indians in an encounter that went down to the wire.
It was a tense game which could have gone either way, but in the end, it was the Mumbai Indians who came out on top thanks to a brilliant innings by Singaporean all-rounder Tim David, who smashed 34 in just 11 balls to guide his side to victory.
There were also a number of moments where individual errors cost Delhi Capitals a place in the playoffs. The qualification scenario is now set in stone. RCB will take on Lucknow Super Giants in the Eliminator, with the winner facing the loser of Qualifier 1, to take place between Gujarat and Rajasthan Royals, for a place in the all-important final.
Mumbai skipper Rohit Sharma won the toss and chose to bowl first on what was a very tricky two-paced wicket. The batsmen found it difficult to lay bat on ball from the very outset, with David Warner facing a tennis ball bounce from Daniel Sams, which led to his downfall.
The in-form Mitch Marsh also made the long walk back to the pavilion after an excellent delivery from Jasprit Bumrah caught the edge and went straight to Rohit Sharma at first slip. Prithvi Shaw and Rishabh Pant had to then take up the responsibility of rebuilding the Delhi innings, but Shaw was unable to do after another absolute jaffa from Bumrah sent the youngster back into the hut.
Pant then saw another one of his batsmen depart. Sarfaraz Khan was unable to make any sort of impact, reducing the Capitals to 50/4. Rovman Powell was to be Delhi’s saviour yet again. The West Indian joined his skipper in the middle at a perilous stage but played in stark contrast to his teammates. The two added 75 between them as the Capitals eventually reached a defendable score of 159/7 in a crunch game.
With a target of 160 to get on a tricky surface, the Mumbai Indians did not get off to a great start. Rohit was struggling to get his timing right, and after an extended period of uncomfortable batting, Anrich Nortje dismissed the maestro for a 13-ball 2. This brought in the young Brevis into the middle, who took some time to settle, after which both he and Ishan Kishan shifted gears. After a relatively quiet powerplay, the two youngsters took on the spinners, Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel, as they scored seven sixes between them.
Kishan was dismissed attempting one big shot too many for a well-made 48 before Brevis, who has been hailed as the successor AB de Villiers, also departed for a wonderful innings of 37. The dismissal brought Delhi back into the game.
David, who came in after Brevis’ dismissal, survived a huge edge on his very first ball. Neither the umpires nor the Capitals themselves recognised the chance. This small event was to have a huge impact on the game as the all-rounder went on to make a magnificent 11-ball 34 to brush Delhi aside. At the time of his dismissal, Mumbai needed a run-a-ball, which they eventually got to, after a few nervy moments, winning the game by five wickets.
The win for the Mumbai Indians meant that while Delhi fell short at the final hurdle, the RCB went through to the playoffs amidst chants of “RCB, RCB” at the Wankhede. The Challengers will take on the Lucknow Super Giants in the Eliminator.
Brief scores
Mumbai Indians 160 for 5 (Kishan 48, David 34, Thakur 2-32) beat Delhi Capitals 159 for 7 (Powell 43, Bumrah 3-25) by five wickets
