Capitals vs Indians: Mishra’s 150th and how Kotla is proving to be Delhi’s feeble fortress

Amit Mishra picked up his 150th IPL wicket but it couldn't prevent the Delhi Capitals from losing their third match at home this season.

Mumbai Indians ended Delhi Capitals‘ three-match winning streak by inflicting a 40-run loss at the Feroz Shah Kotla on Thursday. With the loss, Delhi’s sloppy home record continued which has seen them lose three of the fours matches at home this season. We discuss that and more in our talking points from Match 34 of the IPL. MATCH REPORT

Mishra first Indian to 150 wickets

Legspinner Amit Mishra became the first Indian bowler in the IPL to register 150 wickets to his name. Capitals’ Mishra achieved to the feat in the seventh over of the match when he castled MI captain Rohit Sharma in the seventh over of the innings and became only the second bowler overall behind Lasith Malinga to the 150-wicket mark. Mishra, an integral part of the IPL – he has played in every season – has played for Deccan Chargers, Sunrisers Hyderabad earlier, and has claimed three hat-tricks to go with three four-wicket-hauls. Playing his 140th IPL game, Mishra, with his first ball – provided the Capitals with their first breakthrough by cleaning up Rohit with a peach of a delivery – a flighted ball, slower through the air which pitched and turned to beat Rohit’s defence – after Mumbai had raced to 57 in six overs. HIGHLIGHTS: DC vs MI

Pandya brothers to MI’s rescue

Throughout the tournament, Hardik Pandya has bailed Mumbai out of trouble in the death overs, and Thursday night was no different. In fact, this time he was ably supported by his brother Krunal as the brothers launched an assault to collect 54 runs from the last 19 balls. On a surface where a total of 150 was challenging, Mumbai ended touching 170, courtesy the manner in which the Pandya brothers batted. While Hardik was at his brutal best, finishing with three fours and two sixes, it was Krunal who did the job. Coming out to bat ahead of Kieron Pollard, Krunal was slow to start with – 17 off his first 18 balls. But he ensured that Mumbai did not slump in the middle overs. He played out the spinners and then accelerated to scored 37 off 26. Together, Krunal and Hardik combined to score 69 off 41 balls, which proved to be extremely crucial for Mumbai. VIDEO REVIEW: DC vs MI

Chahar blows away Delhi’s top order

The Capitals seemed to be in control of their chase of 169 with openers Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw providing the team a breezy start of 49 in six overs. But then came legspinner Rahul Chahar and he single-handedly changed the course of the game, claiming 3 for 19. His first over went for 10 runs, but the legspinner returned strongly after the Powerplay to stifle the Capitals with the wickets of both openers. Dhawan missed a reverse sweep and was bowled off his pads, an over which cost just two runs. In his next over, with Shaw trying to accelerate, the batsman was out caught at long-on. With the required rate climbing over nine, the legspinner took out the Capitals skipper with a delivery legspinners dream of. Chahar gave the ball air as it pitched on middle and leg before spinning sharply to clip the off-stump. From 49/0 in six, the Capitals has slumped to 63/4 in 10.2 overs without much scope left for a comeback.

Is Kotla really Delhi’s home?

A home venue usually works in favour of a team. But with the Capitals, it’s proving to be the other way around. With their fifth loss of the season, the Capitals have now tasted defeat in the last four of the five matches played. Their record at the Kotla reads: Played 4, Lost 3, Tied 1. Behind Royal Challengers Bangalore, the Capitals are second in terms of a team’s win-loss ratio at home. What sparked further debate over the performance was the way the Kotla pitch played out on Thursday. It was slow and low but considering how franchises like Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad have made the most of similar surfaces at home, a lot more was expect of the capitals. Coach Ricky Ponting and Iyer were critical of the surface and admitted they needed to fare better.