Quinton de Kock struck a quick-fire 40 as the Mumbai Indians reached yet another IPL final by beating the Delhi Capitals by 57 runs in Qualifier 1 on Thursday.
The Mumbai Indians outfit was flawless in its effort with both bat and ball and are now firmly in contention to win a fifth IPL crown on Tuesday.
The Capitals won the toss and elected to bowl first, a decision that originally yielded success with the big wicket of Rohit Sharma for a golden duck.
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But, De Kock consolidated the innings alongside Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan, who both kicked on after the Proteas skipper departed by bringing up their respective half-centuries.
Mumbai were in a destructive mood towards the end of the innings with Kishan and Hardik Pandya sending the Capitals’ bowlers, especially Proteas duo Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje, for a couple of maximums to carry their team to 200-5 in their 20 overs.
In reply, the Capitals’ run chase was all but over even before it started as they slumped to a disastrous 0-3 with Trent Boult and Jasprit Bumrah making early inroads.
Pandya and Kieron Pollard also got in on the wickets and despite a valiant 65 by Marcus Stoinis, the Capitals fell well short of the Mumbai target by finishing on 143-8.
Bumrah finished as the pick of the bowlers with excellent figures of 4-14 as Mumbai took a step closer to defending their IPL crown.
The Capitals, though, will have one final opportunity to save their campaign. They will now face the winner from Friday’s Eliminator between the Sunrisers Hyderabad and the Royal Challengers Bangalore in Qualifier 2 on Sunday.
