IPL 2022: Lalit Yadav, Axar Patel take Delhi Capitals to 4-wicket win against Mumbai Indians

Axar Patel hit a vital 17-ball 38* to propel the Delhi Capitals to a big win in their IPL 2022 opener against the Mumbai Indians at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai.

Batting first, MI started off well thanks to a 67-run opening stand between Rohit Sharma and Kishan. Delhi, however, managed to keep things in check thanks to regular wickets.

However, Kishan stayed unbeaten for his 48-ball 81 and held the innings together even as he maintained a very high strike-rate. MI finished with 177/5 in their 20 overs.

For Delhi, Kuldeep Yadav delivered a good performance – claiming 3/18 in his four overs. The ball was coming out well and he was putting good revs on it.

In reply, Delhi got off to a quick start but they lost too many wickets too. By the time the DC innings entered the tenth over of their innings, there were already reduced to 72/5.

From that point on, the pressure was always on DC. Shardul Thakur (22 off 11) and Lalit Yadav got a small partnership going but things unraveled pretty quickly after Thakur was dismissed by Basil Thampi.

Delhi fought well and really got their act together after that. Lalit played an excellent innings of 48* off 38 balls and shared a match-winning partnership with Axar. The duo put on an unbroken stand of 75 off 30 balls.

Axar, in particular, wasn’t afraid to play the big shots while Lalit kept his head in the game with a very composed innings. While MI’s bowlers erred, DC’s batters made merry.

Thampi had a good outing for MI – claiming 3/35. He showed good pace, which reminded many of his Gujarat Lions days, and also used his changes of pace well. Leg-spinner Murugan Ashwin also came up with an impressive spell, giving away just 14 runs in his 4 overs. He also took two wickets.

The last time MI won their season opener was in 2012.