Avesh and Axar set the stage for Capitals before Iyer and Ashwin ace tricky chase

Mumbai Indians bowlers drag the game to the last over with regular strikes before going down

Delhi Capitals 132 for 6 (Iyer 33*, Ashwin 20*, Coulter-Nile 1-19) beat Mumbai Indians 129 for 8 (Suryakumar 33, Avesh 3-15, Axar 3-21) by four wickets

Mumbai Indians threatened to defend 129 on a sluggish Sharjah track, but Shreyas Iyer dented their playoff chances and strengthened Delhi Capitals’ own chances of a top-two finish with a smart innings in the company of R Ashwin. Iyer absorbed the pressure created by the fall of three wickets within the first five overs of the chase and ushered Capitals home with five balls to spare.

Despite the defeat on Saturday, Mumbai Indians could still sneak into the final four, but in addition to needing to win their remaining two games against Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad, they must also rely on favours from other sides.

It was Capitals’ depleted attack that set up the victory. While Avesh Khan and Anrich Nortje defied the slowness of the pitch with a hair-raising display of pace and guile, left-arm fingerspinner Axar Patel thrived with his more subtle variations.

Not a favourable match-up? No problem for Axar
The Capitals left out offspin-bowling allrounder Lalit Yadav to welcome back Prithvi Shaw, which meant they had only five bowling options at their disposal. It proved enough, with the seamers dovetailing beautifully with Axar.

It was Avesh who produced the first breakthrough when Rohit Sharma – believe it or not – miscued a pull to deep third man.

Axar then ran into two left-handers and trumped both of them. He first dangled one away from Quinton de Kock’s reach and had him carving a catch to backward point. Then, he zipped one away from Saurabh Tiwary from around the wicket, drawing a top edge. Axar also had Suryakumar Yadav holing out later with a dipping full-toss, ending with 3 for 21 in his four overs.

Full report to follow…