IPL 2019 | Player Ratings - Delhi Capitals players rated and slated from their 37-run win over Mumbai Indians

03/25/2019

Delhi Capitals had a brilliant start to their campaign and with a collective performance in Mumbai, they took the ‘rivalry’ head-to-head to 12-11. It was one of those days where almost every move made by Shreyas Iyer reaped dividends, and we rate each one of their performances to bring some context.

Shikhar Dhawan (8/10): Dhawan’s innings could be viewed as very good and selfish at the same time, but I will personally side with the former considering he ended up having 40-plus runs to the board. It sounds simple, doesn’t it? The fact that the team had to some stroke-maker at the top, he bided his time and opened his arms late to help the side revive from 29/2.

Prithvi Shaw (2/10): If you had seen the way Shaw went to his front foot to launch a pull over mid-on against Mitchell McClenaghan for a four, then you would have been forgiven for fantasizing a big Prithvi Shaw innings. Blink your eye and he had made a mess of a simple drive on the up to edge it to the keeper. Could have gone longer, but that is T20 bro.

Shreyas Iyer (4/10): Stylish and full of substance, but fragile and less calculative. A 16-run Shreyas Iyer innings had everything that the Mumbaikar is known for. Played some flashy drives on the up, and just like that, he was gone. He needed to be there for a bit longer to help Dhawan in the powerplay.

Rishabh Pant (9/10): After Andre Russell set the Eden on fire, Rishabh Pant showed some of his fireworks to keep the audience engaged in Mumbai. His 78 runs off 28 balls came at a strike rate of 288.89, and no Mumbai bowler, let me repeat no Mumbai bowler, forget stopping him, was able to slow him down. This is the kind of performance kids fantasize in their dreams and boy, Pant is living it on the actual cricket field now.

Colin Ingram (9/10): The South African has always been known for his big scoring temperament in the T20s, but his innings was special today for more reasons than one. After the team lost Shaw and Iyer, which reduced the team to 29 for 2, Ingram made sure that he left the team at a much favourable position by taking them to 112 for 3.

Keemo Paul (6.5/10): The Windies speedster gave away only 21 runs in 3 overs, which was good enough for a debutant in the IPL. His bowling had one special feature that put him in the same club as Rabada that he didn’t hesitate to maintain the straight line and invited the Mumbai players to commit errors, instead of being defensive so as to restrict run-scoring chances.

Axar Patel (4/10): Patel is one of those unassuming performers, who would rather miss the bus than run behind it. However, if you are playing in Mumbai, a city where a place in a ride comes with a premium, he needed to be more authoritative in his shot selection. But by throwing his wicket away, Patel lost an opportunity to come back to the public consciousness.

Rahul Tewatia (8/10): After troubling many batsmen last year, Rahul Tewatia was back in the IPL in a hope to do more of them, yet Shreyas Iyer trusted him for only one over. Probably the lack of turn was one of the reasons, but he would have been given him the ball for the second time to test the turn off the surface. Still, Tewatia had his moment under the sun by holding onto as many as four catches and let's not forget he hit the best bowler in world cricket for a huge six today. The latter alone earns him an 8.

Kagiso Rabada (8.5/10): Amidst all the batting carnage, Rabada came as a breath of fresh air and showcased his prowess by conceding only 23 runs in four overs while picking a couple of wickets. This is as good a T20 performance as it could get and had he got some help from others, well, it would have been difficult for Mumbai to reach 176 eventually.

Trent Boult (7/10): For a brief while, the senior Pandya gave Delhi jitters that they would chase the total down, but Trent Boult changed everything by dismissing him in the 15th over. Boult was not economical and wasn't even disciplined with his bowling, but that wicket alone changed the game in Mumbai’s head to bring Delhi to a winning position, which makes him a contextual good performer.

Ishant Sharma (8/10): Forget drug testing, MI should ask for a DNA test on the person who was bowling in Ishant Sharma's jersey today. It was a completely different yet refreshing performance by the Delhi cricketer, who not only let the bowling do the talking but also threw his body around to show that he still has a lot to give. Nevermind that last over, he is the performer of the day for me. Sorry, Rishabh Pant.