A stellar bowling display followed by a measured chase saw Mumbai beat Delhi and clinch their fifth Indian T20 League final and second on the trot.

Here are the key talking points from the contest.

Cometh the hour, cometh the captain

With just 53 runs in his last five matches at a strike rate of just 82.81, Rohit Sharma was due a big knock and the Mumbai skipper delivered when it mattered most. Smashing a brilliant 68 off 51 balls, he guided his side to victory. Sharma hit five boundaries and four sixes in his sensational match-winning knock.

A valiant knock from the other skipper

Having come in to bat at 16-2, Delhi needed one of their batsmen to step up and play through the innings and captain Shreyas Iyer did just that, scoring 65 off 50 balls to help Delhi post a decent total on the scoreboard. Iyer hit six boundaries and two sixes in a typically classy knock but it proved to be futile as Mumbai, anchored by skipper Sharma, chased the total down with ease. A tough break but nonetheless an incredible knock from Iyer.

Bamboozled by Boult

Mumbai pacer Trent Boult bowled two sensational overs in Qualifier 1, picking up two wickets and giving away just nine runs, but an injury ruled him out for the rest of the contest and posed a question mark over his involvement in the final. But the Kiwi was declared fit and made an instant impact, picking a wicket on the first ball of the match, dismissing the in-form Marcus Stoinis. He then added a couple of more scalps to his tally, finishing with figures of 3-30 in his four overs, capping off a brilliant season with another sensational display.

A fabulous fifth

With this win, Mumbai became the first team in eight years and only the second in Indian T20 League history to repeat as champions. This was also their fifth title, putting them two clear of next-best Chennai, who were the last team to win the title. Rohit Sharma improved on his own record of the player with the most titles, winning his sixth, one with Hyderabad and five with Mumbai.

Feature image courtesy: Twitter.com / Indian T20 League

An outstanding performance with the bat followed by a stellar showing from their pacers saw Delhi beat Hyderabad by 17 wickets in Qualifier 2 to reach their maiden Indian T20 League final.

Here are the key talking points from the contest:

The dubious duality of Shikhar Dhawan

After being dismissed for a duck against Mumbai in Qualifier 1, Delhi opener Shikhar Dhawan redeemed himself in grand fashion, smashing 78 off 50 balls to help his side post a massive, and eventually a match-winning total of 179 on the board. Dhawan has now scored two fifties and two centuries in his last seven outings, however, he failed to get off the mark in the other three, returning to the pavilion for a duck. If he manages to get off the mark in the final, Mumbai will have to put extra effort to get rid of the veteran opener.

Williamson's valiant knock

Having walked in with the scoreboard reading 43/2 and 44/3 soon after, Kane Williamson was the last man standing between Delhi and maiden final appearance. And the Kiwi batsmen ensured that he kept the game alive right until the 17th over with an incredibly stylish knock of 67 off 45 balls. However, with wickets tumbling at the other end and the required rate rising, Williamson finally succumbed on the penultimate ball of the 17th over which effectively ended the contest. Irrespective, it was a stellar knock from one of the best batsmen on the planet. 

Stoinis' sizzling all-round display

Despite the change in role and being sent as an opener, all-rounder Marcus Stoinis continued where he left off against Mumbai, smashing 38 off 27 balls before being dismissed by a ripper from Rashid Khan. He then came in to bowl in the powerplay and dealt a killer blow to Hyderabad’s chances, picking up two wickets in the space of three balls to reduce the opposition to 44/3. Stoinis then put the nail in Hyderabad's coffin by dismissing Williamson in the 17th over. Stoinis' all-round brilliance earned him the man of the match award.

Can Delhi get over the Mumbai hunch?

With this win, Delhi head to the final to take on Mumbai, who they will face for the fourth time this season. Mumbai have beaten Delhi four times on the trot, with none of the matches being particularly close. Mumbai well and truly have Delhi's number and the first time finalists will need a performance of a lifetime from their star men if they are to usurp the reigning champions.

Feature image courtesy: Twitter / @IndianT20League

As per the points table, it will be second versus third when Delhi take on Hyderabad in Qualifier 2 at the Shiekh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi with a place in the final against league-leaders and reigning champions Mumbai at stake.

Hyderabad have the psychological edge having already beaten Delhi twice this season and also having won five of their last six matches, while Delhi come into this fixture with only one win in their last six outings. 

Ahead of this all-important clash, here are the key facts about the contest: 

Will Rashid be Delhi's doom again?

Year after year, Rashid Khan continues to prove himself as one of the best, if not the best, spin bowlers in T20s.

The Afghanistan leggie has picked 19 wickets in 15 matches at a scarcely believable economy rate of 5.30. While he has a good record against every team in the league, his numbers against Delhi are particularly impressive.

In five matches against Delhi since 2019, Rashid has picked up 10 scalps and a mind-boggling economy rate of just 3.80. The 22-year-old simply knows how to thwart the Delhi batting line-up and like the rest of the league, Delhi will likely just play out his quota of four overs, but that has rarely stopped Rashid from picking up wickets for his side.

Rashid Khan vs teams in Indian T20 League since 2019
Teams	Balls	Runs	Wkts	4s	6s	Economy	SR	Avg	Balls//boundary
Chennai	96	103	3	8	5	6.44	32.00	34.33	7.38
Delhi	120	76	10	8	0	3.80	12.00	7.60	15.00
Punjab	96	67	9	2	2	4.19	10.67	7.44	24.00
Kolkata	96	102	4	10	2	6.38	24.00	25.50	8.00
Mumbai	96	102	3	6	4	6.38	32.00	34.00	9.60
Rajasthan	96	99	5	7	2	6.19	19.20	19.80	10.67
Bangalore	120	146	2	7	8	7.30	60.00	73.00	8.00

Players to watch out for 

Delhi ďż˝?Shikhar Dhawan

Since hitting two centuries on the trot, Delhi opener Shikhar Dhawan has gone cold after having scored just 60 runs in the subsequent five matches, which includes three ducks. With Prithvi Shaw struggling to get going as well, Dhawan's baffling drop in form came at the worst time for Delhi and given his record in the playoffs, it is unlikely that he would be able to turn it around against Hyderabad. In 19 knockout matches, Dhawan has a strike rate of just 94.06 and an average of just 10.21, a terrible return for any player, let alone one of Dhawan's ability. If Hyderabad crack open Delhi's top order like Mumbai did in Qualifier 1, it could be lights out for the team from the capital.

Hyderabad ďż˝?Jason Holder

Since his injection into the playing XI, Jason Holder and Hyderabad have been on a roll, with the big West Indian picking up 13 scalps in six matches at an economy rate of just 7.62, a fantastic return for a bowler who plays as the third choice seamer in the side. Holder has picked up at least one wicket in each of his six appearances this season and has the best strike rate of any bowler in the league at 11.08, ahead of the likes of Purple Cap competitors Jasprit Bumrah(12.44) and Kagiso Rabada (14.08), who are second and third respectively. Holder's work in the middle overs and the death has been nothing short of gold for Hyderabad and the team would be hopeful that he can continue his good work against Delhi and potentially, Mumbai. 

Stats to watch out

2: Delhi’s Ravichandran Ashwin is just two wickets shy of 250 scalps in T20s. He could become the third Indian bowler to achieve the feat after Piyush Chawla and Amit Mishra.

5: David Warner needs five sixes to complete 200 maximums in the Indian T20 League. He could become the sixth batsman after Chris Gayle, AB Devilliers, MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to achieve this feat.

6: Team batting second have won six straight matches at Abu Dhabi.

21: Hyderabad’s Wriddhimann Saha needs 21 runs to complete 2000 runs in the Indian T20 League. He could become the 39th batsman to reach the mark in the league.

Writer’s pick

Given the terrible form of Delhi's batter and a brilliant one of Hyderabad’s bowlers, we pick the Orange Army to win this contest and head to the final for a repeat of the final group stage match of the season.

Feature image courtesy: AFP / Noah Seelam

A stellar display with the ball followed by a gritty performance with the bat saw Hyderabad beat Bangalore and advance to Qualifier 2 of the playoffs.

Here are the talking points from the contest:

Kane's fiery spirit

With his team in a hole at 43/2 and 55/3 soon after on a difficult surface to bat on, Hyderabad needed someone to step up and stay the course of the innings and guide the side to victory. Up stepped Kane Williamson, playing a patient and measured knock of 50 off 44 to lead Hyderabad to victory and just one win away from the final. The Kiwi batsman hit just two fours and two sixes in a gritty knock for his side.

Holder's all-round brilliance

West Indian all-rounder Jason Holder continued his incredible form with both bat and ball, making a huge impact in both innings for Hyderabad. The veteran picked three wickets and gave away just 25 runs in his quota of four overs, helping his side restrict Hyderabad to just 131. In the second innings, he walked in with Hyderabad needing 65 runs off 49 balls and displayed immense poise in his knock of 24 off 20 balls, partnering Williamson in guiding Hyderabad to victory.

What’s next?

Hyderabad now progress to Qualifier 2, where they will take on Delhi, who lost against Mumbai in Qualifier 1 but were presented with another opportunity to make it to the final owing to their top 2 finish in the league standings. Hyderabad thrashed Delhi by 88 runs in their last matchup and will be confident of a victory on Sunday.

Feature image courtesy: Twitter.com / Indian T20 League

Mumbai made it three wins in three against Delhi this Indian T20 League season by defeating Shreyas Iyer's team by 57 runs in the first Qualifier on Thursday to book their place in the final for the third time in four years.

The defending champions dominated the games right from the outset despite losing their captain Rohit Sharma early in the game. Riding on the back of two 50+ runs partnerships, Mumbai posted 200/5 on board and a sensational bowling effort from Jasprit Bumrah (14/4) and Trent Boult (9/2) guided Mumbai to a comfortable victory.

A game that was held at Mumbai's way for a majority of time had plenty of things to talk about.

Rohit Sharma’s form ringing alarm bells at Mumbai 

The Mumbai captain was dismissed on a golden duck on Thursday - his first since May 2018 - meaning that he now has the most ducks in Indian T20 League history alongside Harbhajan Singh and Parthiv Patel. Sharma’s form has certainly been alarming given that he has registered six single-digit scores this season, and Mumbai just cannot afford to take it lightly especially at this stage of the tournament. While dropping a captain can be a grinding statement, the hierarchy needs to take into account how Ishan Kishan coped after being promoted up in the order. 

A breakdown in figures of Rohit Sharma, Quinton de Kock and Ishan Kishan outline further conflict as the skipper has averaged a mere 19.57 in the Powerplay overs this season, scoring 137 runs in 11 innings while being dismissed a whopping seven times. Ishan Kishan, who has played two fewer innings than the captain during this phase, has scored 136 runs at an average of 136. Kishan, in fact, is averaging 100 while opening (four innings), but the figures drop subsequently to 40.14 at No. 4. Not exactly a poor return, per se, but the numbers speak for themselves. 

Mumbai players in Powerplay in 2020
Player	Innings	Runs	Balls	Dismissals	Dot Balls	4s	6s	Average	St. Rate	Balls per boundary
Rohit Sharma	11	137	124	7	69	14	7	19.57	110.48	5.9
Ishan Kishan	9	136	114	1	56	19	4	136	119.29	4.95
Q. de Kock	15	289	210	7	87	31	10	41.28	137.61	5.12

Is it time for Mumbai to reconsider?

Bowling units on a different spectrum

Quick recap:

1: Wickets taken by Delhi pacers on the night.

6: Wickets taken by Mumbai pacers on the night.

Amongst the pacer who bowled more than two overs for Delhi, Kagiso Rabada turned out to be the most economical one, ending his night with a lowly figure of 10.50. The likes of Anrich Nortje and Daniel Sams, on the other hand, went for 12.50 and 11.00 respectively. The three men, in fact, combined for just one wicket and seemed to have run out of ideas, allowing the Mumbai batsmen to pick their lines quite early on. It is safe to say that Nortje’s obdurate approach of constantly delivering short-pitch bowls gave Mumbai a helping hand in one way or another.

In the 16th over, the South African was hit for 18 runs. In the final over, his reluctancy of bowling through the stumps to Hardik Pandya was punished by 20 runs, meaning that the 26-year-old gave away 50 runs on the night - a whopping 25 percent of Mumbai’s total.

Contrary to Delhi’s return though, Mumbai struck in the very first over, dismissing Prithvi Shaw and Ajinkya Rahane, restricting them from opening the account. On came Bumrah after Trent Boult’s carnage and it was three-for-none in no time. The pacers�?effort of combining for four wickets in the Powerplay overs was duly rewarded as Delhi managed a mere 32 runs during the phase. Delhi did manage to climb the impossible ladder during the middle overs, with Marcus Stoinis and Axar Patel combining for 71 runs, but the Australian simply had no answers to Bumrah's trickery, who dismissed him in the very first ball upon returning in the 16th over.

Prithvi Shaw needs a fix

179: Runs scored by Prithvi Shaw in his first five games.

26: Runs scored by the 20-year-old in his last five outings.

A duck on Thursday means Prithvi Shaw has now been dismissed without opening his account on three occasions this season; joint highest alongside Shikhar Dhawan, Dinesh Karthik and Nitish Rana. Delhi will get another go at booking their place in the final, but if they are to turn their fortunes against Mumbai, they need to find the lost form of Prithvi Shaw. Opening the batting means he is certain to square off against pacers, against whom he has been utterly inadequate. In fact, this season, 12 of his 15 dismissals have come against pacers while scoring just 122 runs during the entirety of the season.

Openers are tasked to set the momentum and have the luxury of welting during the field restriction and failing at it causes rupture, as we saw tonight. What Delhi needs to do is to let bygones be bygones and work on Shaw’s deficiencies if they are to have a go at the title.

Feature image courtesy: Twitter / @IndianT20League

A brilliant bowling display followed by an incredible opening stand guided Hyderabad to a 10-wicket over Mumbai at the Sharjah Stadium.

Here are the key talking points from the contest:

Hyderabad's delight is Kolkata’s despair

With this sensational win, Hyderabad jumped from fifth to third on the points table and qualified for the playoffs only on net run rate. However, their entry into the top four meant Kolkata were relegated to fifth, ending their campaign by a margin of 0.042 difference between their and Bangalore's net run rate. Kolkata have nobody but themselves to blame as they lost five of their final eight fixtures, which resulted in them finishing with only 14 points and ending their campaign prematurely.

Eat, sleep, score 500, repeat

On a day when Hyderabad couldn’t afford any slip-ups, captain David Warner ensured that there wouldn’t be one, scoring an unbeaten 85 off 58 balls to guide Hyderabad to a 10-wicket win over the league leaders. With a boundary in the 11^th over, Warner reached 57 runs, and thereby completed 500 runs for the season, doing so for the sixth season running, the first man to achieve that feat. Warner also surpassed Rohit Sharma as the third-highest runscorer in Indian T20 League history, furthering his status as perhaps the best foreign export in league history.

Saha's sensational impact

With Warner skippering the side and Williamson a key cog in the middle order, Hyderabad had no overseas slots left, as the other two were taken up by Rashid Khan and Jason Holder, both key to their bowling attack. What this meant was the team had to drop opener Jonny Bairstow and bring in Wriddhimann Saha to open the innings alongside Warner, and the veteran answered the call, by scoring 184 in three matches at an average of 92, helping Hyderabad clinch a playoff spot. Saha's return to the side as an opener proved to be a masterstroke, as the wicketkeeper-batsman repaid the team’s faith with three outstanding knocks at the top of the order.

Kieron continues his brilliant form

The only silver lining on a lacklustre evening for Mumbai was the performance of all-rounder Kieron Pollard. The big West Indian helped his side escape from a hole with a brilliant knock of 41 off 25 balls that helped Mumbai post a fighting total on the scoreboard. Pollard has now scored 259 runs this season at a strike rate of 193.28, the best he’s managed in his Indian T20 League career. The veteran all-rounder also completed 3000 runs for Mumbai, becoming only the second batsman in the franchise's history after Rohit Sharma to achieve that feat.

Feature image courtesy: Twitter.com / Hyderabad

A sensational bowling display followed by a measured chase saw Delhi score an easy six-wicket win over Bangalore and seal their place in Qualifier 1 against Mumbai in the 2020 Indian T20 League.

Here are the key talking points from the contest:

A masterclass from the veterans

Chasing a modest total, Delhi lost Prithvi Shaw in just the second over, sending jitters in their dugout, but their two most experienced batsmen, Shikhar Dhawan and Ajinkya Rahane batted beautifully to ensure victory for their side. The duo forged a 78-run partnership that broke Bangalore’s resilience and set Delhi on course for an easy chase. While Dhawan smashed 54 off 41 balls, Rahane scored a measured 60 off 46 that reduced the asking rate to a run a ball. A fantastic chase set up by two wily veterans.

Pace attack does the trick

Delhi's pace duo of Anrich Nortje and Kagiso Rabada have been sensational all season long and in their final league game of the season, they yet again came to the fore, combining to pick five wickets in their eight overs. Nortje and Rabada picked up timely wickets, breaking every momentum-building partnership that Bangalore built and limiting them to just 152 on the scoreboard. A stellar display that sealed the second spot for Delhi.

Devdutt does it again

While the rest of Bangalore's batting order struggled to get going, opener Devdutt Padikkal was yet again on song for his side, scoring a valiant 50 off 41 that helped his side put a fighting total on the scoreboard. The youngster smashed five boundaries in a typically classy knock that saw him climb to third on the list of the league’s leading runscorers this season. With Bangalore guaranteed at least one more match, Padikkal could breach the 500 mark in his maiden Indian T20 League campaign, which would be a stellar achievement for the southpaw.

Victory in defeat

While Bangalore did lose this contest, they managed to bowl 19 overs before Delhi eventually reached the target. Bangalore had to ensure that they bowled at least 17.3 overs to stay ahead of Kolkata on net run rate and they cleared that mark by eight balls to qualify for the playoffs. They will now take on either Kolkata or Hyderabad in Qualifier 2 on Friday.

Feature image courtesy: Twitter / @IndianT20League

Chennai completed a league double over Punjab for the second time in three years, this time defeating KL Rahul's team by nine wickets to end their run in this year's Indian T20 League.

Chennai, who decided to field, restricted Punjab to 153/6 after a brilliant bowling effort from Lungi Ngidi and their spinning contingent. In turn, Chennai lost a solitary wicket as Ruturaj Gaikwad scored his third consecutive half-century to end Chennai's tenure on a high. 

Having said that, let's have a look at things we learned from the game:

Tahir finally gets Gayle

Imran Tahir has been a part of the Indian T20 League setup since 2014, but not even once in these six years has he managed to bag Chris Gayle's scalp. In fact, before today’s game, Gayle has smashed the South African spinner for 39 runs in 16 deliveries, hitting at a strike-rate of 243.75 in three innings. On Sunday though, Tahir was exceptionally lustrous, especially against Gayle. Not only did he concede a boundary but also restricted the hard-hitting West Indian to just six runs off 10 deliveries against him.

There were other personal battles as well, as it was the second time this season that Shardul Thakur got the better of Nicholas Pooran. In these two games, Pooran has scored a solitary run in three deliveries against the 29-year-old.

Deepak Hooda’s effort in vain

Neither Gayle, KL Rahul nor Mayank Agarwal did enough to build momentum for the lower-order batsmen on Sunday. The trio, in fact, combined for just 67 runs and Chennai looked well on course to dismantle the rest of the order. Deepak Hooda walked in as Punjab were scoring at a measly rate of 6.08, having posted 73/4 in 12 overs. They were in a dire need of someone’s hard-hitting prowess and Hooda was arguably the last man they would have expected to take them to a respectable total, given that his last half-century in the Indian T20 League came way back in 2015 against Delhi.

The 25-year-old Rohtak native took his time to settle, but once he did, took the entire Chennai bowlers by storm. Despite getting least support from the other end, Hooda took Punjab’s run-rate from 6 to 7.65 while also completing his half-century in a mere 26 deliveries. An unbeaten 62 off 30 balls - a whopping 40.52 percent of his team’s total - is now his best ever score in the Indian T20 League. But while it was a commendable effort from the 25-year-old, the bowling contingent failed to deliver on the day as Chennai took home two points.

Chennai have got 99 problems, but Punjab isn't one of them

1: Number of wickets Punjab have taken against Chennai in two games this season.

The aforementioned data underlines the supremacy of Chennai over Punjab, not just in the current edition, but since the inception of the league. The fact that MS Dhoni’s side has won 14 of their 23 meetings against Punjab is further testament to their prevailing authority. The last time these two sides met, Punjab posted a commendable 178/4 only to see their bowlers failing to keep Chennai in check. Their best bowler on that night was Ravi Bishnoi, who conceded at an economy of 8.25. Chennai eventually won the game by 10 wickets and 14 balls still to spare.

The game on Sunday was all about Ruturaj Gaikwad’s third consecutive half-century. After Faf du Plessis departed for 48, Gaikwad continued with his steady approach to take his team to glory.

Feature image courtesy: Twitter / @IndianT20League

A stellar performance with the bat followed by a dominant display with the ball saw Kolkata beat Rajasthan and give themselves a chance to qualify for the Indian T20 League playoffs.

Here are the key talking points from the contest:

Captain Morgan to the rescue

With his team reeling at 74/3 at the end of nine overs, Kolkata needed someone to step up and carry the team through the innings. Up rose captain Eoin Morgan, smashing an unbeaten 68 off 35 balls to guide his side to a massive total of 191 at the end of their batting effort. The Kolkata skipper hit five fours and half a dozen sixes in what was his best knock of the season.

Cummins comes good

In a season where he struggled to pick wickets, the record-purchase at the last auction, Pat Cummins came good for his side in their hour of need, picking three wickets in the Powerplay overs to dismantle Rajasthan's chase. With Rajasthan desperate to chase the total as quickly as possible to improve their net run rate, their top order decided to go after Cummins, but the wily Australian continued to bowl an aggressive line and was rewarded with three scalps in his first two overs. He added another to his tally late in the evening to finish with figures of 4-34, his best in the Indian T20 League. A stellar showing from the speedster.

One last toast from Tewatia

In what proved to be his final appearance of the season, all-rounder Rahul Tewatia went out with a sensational performance with both bat and ball in a valiant but fruitless effort. Tewatia picked three wickets with the ball while giving away just 25 runs in his quota of four and then scored 31 off 27 balls to keep his side in the hunt during their chase. Tewatia finished the season with 255 runs and 10 wickets in 14 matches, his best campaign to date in the league.

Where do things stand?

Kolkata started the match at the bottom of the table but jumped to fourth with this win. Their net run rate is 0.069 and 0.055 lower than Bangalore and Delhi, respectively. They will now have to rely on a big win for either Bangalore or Delhi tomorrow or more conveniently, a Mumbai victory over Hyderabad on Tuesday. Kolkata have run their race and will now watch the next two matches closely to determine their future in the competition.

Feature image courtesy: Twitter.com / Indian T20 League

A Trent Boult and Jasprit Bumrah show was on the cards as Mumbai completed a league double over Delhi, this time defeating them by nine wickets to pile further misery on Shreyas Iyer's squad while also getting their first victory at Dubai in the Indian T20 League. 

After winning the toss, Mumbai captain Kieron Pollard decided to field; a decision that worked wonders as his pacers were able to restrict Delhi to a mere 110/9 in 20 overs - the fourth-lowest batting total in this year's edition. It took just 14 overs for Mumbai to reach the target, with Ishan Kishan scoring a quick-fire 72 off 47 balls. 

We analyse the key talking points from the encounter:

Trent Boult the maestro of Powerplay overs

Neither Prithvi Shaw nor Shikhar Dhawan looked comfortable against Trent Boult, to say the least. It took a mere two balls for the New Zealand pacer to get the better of Dhawan in the first over. It was for the second consecutive time this season that Dhawan failed to open his account, and in the process, became the only batsman in competition’s history to score back-to-back centuries and ducks in the same Indian T20 League season.

As for Boult, Dhawan’s scalp was his fifth wicket in the first over this season and dismissing Shaw means he has now taken a whopping 12 wickets in the Powerplay overs; three more than his closest competitor Jofra Archer. The Kiwi international has bowled 31 overs in during the Powerplay this season, conceding just 209 runs at an economy of 6.74 and an average and strike rate of 17.41 and 15.5 respectively. Not to forget, three wickets today means the pacer has now taken his tally to 20 wickets this season, his best-ever return in the competition.

Trent Boult in Powerplay overs in 2020 Indian T20 League
INNINGS	RUNS	BALLS	WICKETS	DOT BALLS	AVERAGE	ECONOMY RATE	STRIKE RATE
13	209	186	12	105	17.41	6.74	15.5

Prithvi Shaw continues to wobble

Prithvi Shaw made an exhilarating start to the new Indian T20 League season, scoring 179 in the opening five games, but has since struggled to find form. The 20-year-old has, in fact, registered four single-digit scores in his last five outings (4, 0, 0, 7, 10), scoring a mere 21 runs during the tenure. On Saturday, against Mumbai, he hit Trent Boult for two boundaries to set-up some much-needed momentum, but a mistimed swipe with a horizontal bat overshadowed all the good work in no time. This was the 10th time 11 innings that he was dismissed by a fast bowler. He’s started to develop a trend here as he has duly struggled to squeeze out runs against them as well. This is what his record against pacers this season looks like:

• 139 runs
• 107 balls
• 10 dismissals
• 13.90 Ave

As both of Delhi’s openers fell within three overs, the batsmen that followed could only score 22 runs in the Powerplay overs at a rate of meagre 3.66, which is Delhi’s worst return in the first six overs this season, and the second-worst overall after Kolkata’s 17/4 against Bangalore.

Delhi losing rhythm in a crucial time

Delhi looked like a real threat earlier in the campaign as they registered five wins from their opening six encounters. However, since their 46-run win over Rajasthan this month, the team won just two of their last seven games. As they headed into today's game, a win would have but all guaranteed them a place in the playoffs. Contrary to what was expected, the team crumbled big time. Not only did their batsmen fail miserably, their bowling contingent looked completely out of sorts as well. Their best bowler, Kagiso Rabada conceded a whopping nine runs per over while Anrich Nortje went for over 10 runs per over. As far as their batting was concerned, captain Shreyas Iyer's 29-ball 25 was the best return from the team.

This slump in form has been a collective carnage, to say the least. Rabada, who picked 17 wickets in his opening seven games, has now wicketless in his last two consecutive games. Nortje, who was acutely economical earlier in the campaign, has conceded runs at will. Although he has been amongst wicket, lack of support from the other end means his returns are just fruitless. There's absolutely no margin for error for Delhi, as a defeat in their next game - against Bangalore - might see other teams pouncing on the opportunity.

Feature image courtesy: Twitter.com / Indian T20 League