De Villiers powers Delhi to 7-wicket victory against Mumbai

AB de Villiers' half-century powered Delhi Daredevils to a seven-wicket victory over Mumbai Indians in their Indian Premier League match in East London, reports Rakesh Thapliyal. Special coverage | Listen to podcast

Fortunes of the teams from two of India's most important cities — Delhi, the political capital — and Mumbai, the financial powerhouse — went in opposite directions at East London. While Gautam Gambhir's Daredevils continued their bold march in this tournament, Mumbai continued to stumble.

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The Mumbai Indians took the inexplicable decision of resting Sanath Jayasuriya and the decision backfired. After winning the toss and choosing to bat, the Mumbai team opened with Luke Ronchi and JP Duminy. Both were back in the dressing room for ducks in just the first over and Mumbai never really recovered from there.

Sachin Tendulkar (15) attempted to rebuild the innings from No. 4 but fell victim to some smart fielding. Tendulkar played the ball back at the pitch and set off for a single, not realising that it ball had bounced to wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik. The Mumbai skipper turned too late and was beaten by Karthik's direct hit. Dwayne Bravo eased the pain with some typically languid hitting and helped Mumbai post 116.

With a small target to chase, Delhi's openers Gautam Gambhir and David Warner were under no pressure and approached the task sensibly. The pair motored along till lazy dismissals sent them both packing. It was of little consequence, though, as AB de Villiers kept a cool head and anchored the chase, getting Delhi comfortably home.

SCOREBOARD

Mumbai Indians:

L Ronchi run out 0 (2b), JP Duminy c Karthik b Nannes 0 (4b), P Shah c Mishra b Bhatia 11 (20b), SR Tendulkar run out 15 (14b, 2x4), A Nayar c de Villiers b Nehra 18 (28b, 1x4), D Bravo c Karthik b Nannes 35 (30b, 2x4, 2x6), Harbhajan b Nehra 10 (6, 1x6), A Rahane c Sangwan b Bhatia 12 (12b, 2x4), R Raje b Bhatia 1 (2b), D Kulkarni run 1 (4b), S Malinga not out 0;

Extras (b 1, lb 2, w 8, nb 2) 13; Total (all out; 20 overs) 116; Fall of wkts: 1-1, 2-1, 3-30, 4-33, 5-90, 6-90, 7-113, 8-114, 9-115, 10-116

Bowling: DP Nannes 4-0-33-2 (2w), A Nehra 4-0-27-2 (1nb, 3w), P Sangwan 4-0-18-0 (1w), A Mishra 4-0-20-0 (1nb, 1w), R Bhatia 4-0-15-3 (1w).

Delhi Daredevils:

G Gambhir c Ronchi b Harbhajan 19 (23b, 2x4), D Warner st Shah b Duminy 21 (30b, 0x4, 1x6), T Dilshan c Shah b Malinga 17 (19b, 2x4), AB de Villiers not out 50 (38b, 6x4, 1x6), D Karthik not out 5 (3b, 1x4);

Extras (w-6) 6; Total (for 3 wkts; 18.5 overs) 118; Fall of wkts: 1-42, 2-46, 3-107;

Bowling: L Malinga 4-0-30-1, D Kulkarni 3-0-9-0, D Bravo 1-0-2-0, Harbhajan Singh 4-0-21-1, JP Duminy 4-0-15-1, S Tendulkar 1-0-19-0, R Raje 1.5-0-22-0.