IPL 2023: Had to keep attacking, take chances, says MI skipper Rohit following win over DC

Jason Behrendorff and Piyush Chawla's three-wicket hauls followed by captain Rohit Sharma's half-century and Tilak Verma's 41 powered MI to a comprehensive 6-wicket win over DC in their match at Arun Jaitley Stadium here on Tuesday.

"Winning the game is the most important. We have been working hard from the first game. We had a camp in Mumbai, getting the result (in our favour) feels good. The first win is always special. We played a Test match here recently, the pitch looked different. Getting a slow bowler was important on this pitch. The spinners kept us in the game. We needed to bat well to chase the total. I thought everyone put their hand up. We had to make it count for the team. I needed to make use of the powerplay, I knew we had to keep attacking and take our chances. I tried to create a partnership, had good communication with Tilak. It was important for us to have a good partnership. We have young guys who have not played IPL before, so it is important to have faith in them. We need to give them that confidence, and we are trying to have a healthy atmosphere in the dressing room. We do not need to make drastic changes, that is really important," said Rohit in a post-match presentation.

Following this loss, DC is at the bottom of the points table, having lost all four games. On the other hand, MI has climbed to the seventh spot on the points table, with one win and two losses in three matches. They have a total of two points.

Coming to the match, after being put to bat first by MI, DC was bundled out for 172 in 19.4 overs.

Skipper Warner (51 off 47 balls with six fours) and Axar Patel (54 off 25 balls with four boundaries and five sixes) were the top performers for DC with the bat as the rest of the line-up struggled to provide support to these two batters. Manish Pandey scored 26 in 18 balls with five fours forming a 43-run stand for the second wicket with Warner, while Axar formed a 67-run stand for the sixth wicket with Warner. Both of these stands were extremely crucial for DC.

Piyush Chawla was the pick of the bowlers for MI, taking 3/22 in his four overs. Jason Behrendorff also took 3/23 in his three overs. Riley Meredith, who was playing his first game of IPL 2023, took 2/34 in 3.4 overs. Hritik Shokeen also got a wicket.

In the chase of 173, skipper Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan gave an explosive start to the five-time champions. The duo stitched a stand of 71 runs in just 45 balls before Kishan departed for 31 off 26 balls with six fours. Tilak Verma continued to impress this season, forming a 68-run stand for the second wicket with Rohit before he was dismissed for 41 off 29 balls, with one four and four sixes. Suryakumar Yadav's lean patch continued as he registered his fourth golden duck in the last seven innings in competitive cricket.

Before falling to Mustafizur Rahman, Rohit scored his first IPL half-century in 24 innings, the longest gap for an opener in IPL. He made 65 off 45 balls with six fours and four sixes.

The duo of Tim David (13*) and Cameron Green (17*) won the match for MI in a last-ball thriller, with the former surviving a run-out attempt while his side needed two runs in the final ball, completing the second run and winning the game for his side.

Mukesh Kumar was the pick of the bowlers for DC, taking 2/30 in two overs. Mustafizur took 1/38 in four overs.

Skipper Rohit was declared 'Player of the Match' for his half-century.

Brief score: Delhi Capitals 172 (Axar Patel 54, David Warner 51; Jason Behrendorff 3-23) vs Mumbai Indians 173/4 (Rohit Sharma 65, Tilak Varma 41; Mukesh Kumar 2-30). (ANI)