IPL: DC v MI, DC lose by a whopping 40-run margin

The 34th match of this season's IPL sees Delhi Capitals taking on Mumbai Indians at the Feroz Shah Kotla. Both sides are heading into the fixture in a rich vein of form, having won each of their last three matches.

Welcome to Deccan Herald's live coverage of the game between Delhi Capitals and Mumbai Indians.

Both these sides are arguably the most in-form teams at present, an indication of which is reflected in the points table.

DC and MI are both on 10 points, but separated by NRR. In this highly anticipated encounter, who will prevail at the capital?

MI win the toss, elect to bat first

JUST IN : Rohit Sharma has won the toss and elected to bat first. The visitors have made two changes in their squad, with Jayant Yadav and Ben Cutting coming in for Jason Behrendorff and Ishan Kishan.

DC are unchanged

Delhi Capitals XI: Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Colin Munro, Shreyas Iyer (c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Chris Morris, Axar Patel, Keemo Paul, Kagiso Rabada, Amit Mishra, Ishant Sharma

Mumbai Indians XI: Quinton de Kock (wk), Rohit Sharma (c), Suryakumar Yadav, Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya, Ben Cutting, Krunal Pandya, Jayant Yadav, Rahul Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, Lasith Malinga

Start of the first innings

Quinton de Kock and skipper Rohit Sharma are out in the middle. Ishant Sharma is set to operate with the new ball.

0.1 Ishant to Rohit, no run. The wicket is alreayd showing signs of its typical self.

0.2 Rohit Sharma guides it down to thirdman, is off the mark

0.3 Quinton de Kock on strike, the ball is pitched on middle and straightened, leg byes

0.4 Another ball right on the money. The two batsmen snatch a single.

0.5 Ishant to de Kock, dot ball.

4-0 after the 1st over

0.6 de Kock flicks off his pads for two runs

1.1 Rabada to Rohit, single.

1.2 Rabada to de Kock, good length, off stump line, straight to the fielder at mid-on for no run

0.3 de Kock flicks to fine leg, slight misfield by Mishra, single

0.4 FOUR! Full and outside off from Rabada, Sharma just leans on to it and caresses it down covers

0.5 Good reply by Rabada, better length, dot ball

12-0 after 2 overs

1.6 Good length on middle stump, Sharma pulls it to mid-wicket

2.1 Ishant to Rohit, flicked to short leg for a single. Both batsmen have been busy thus far.

2.2 Down the leg side, de Kock helps it through mid-wicket for a single

2.3 Good length ball, Sharma charges down the track but misses it altogether.

2.4 Another ball that is a little too straight, Sharma takes a single

2.5 Sharma to de Kock, single

16-0 after 3 overs

2.6 Ishant Sharma bowls a fine delivery, Rohit tries to score a boundary but fails to time it. Another good over from Ishant.

3.1 Morris into the attack, down the leg side, flicked for a single by de Kock

ROHIT SHARMA COMPLETES 8000 T20 RUNS

3.2 Morris to Rohit, inside edge down fine leg for four!

3.3 Full length, straight driven for a single

3.4Attempted yorker but overpitched, de Kock beautifully drives it through mid-on for a four

3.5 Short ball, angling away, de Kock attempts a pull but misses it. Notably, the ball is keeping very low.

32-0 after 4 overs.

3.6 SIX! de Kock hangs back and pulls out his typical heave for a maximum!

4.2 Ishant to de Kock, the batsman gives himself room but the pacer follows him, another single

4.3 Straight ball, just outside off, Sharma climbs on to it and bludgeons it down covers for a four!

4.4 Full length on leg stump, Sharma beautifully strikes it, but only to deep mid-wicket for a single

4.5 de Kock, once again, tries to open up the offside. However, Sharma follows him, single taken.

41-0 after 5 overs

4.6 Outside off stump, the ball doesn't come on to the bat, dot ball. On a flatter track, that would have raced off Rohit's bat for a four.

5.1Keemo Paul into the attack. Dot ball to Rohit.

5.2 Bowled outside off, no pace on the ball, Sharma almost finds the gap, single.

5.3 Paul to de Kock, way too short, de Kock has all the time in the world to tug it away for a maximum! That's huge!

5.4 Ball outside off, de Kock tries to squeeze the offside but once again fails to pierce the gap, single

5.5 Paul to de Kock, pushed through for a single

5.6 NO BALL + SIX That's almost a beamer from Paul, and Rohit makes no mistake. He muscles it through mid-wicket for a six! Free hit.

57 off 6 overs. What a start from MI!

FREE HIT Ball: Wide off the stumps, just before the wide line, single. Smart bowling by Paul.

Rohit Sharma departs. That's right through the gates!

6.1 WICKET!!!!!

Mishra into the attack, and he gets his man! He bowls it on a good length, the ball straightens and sticks low, leaving Rohit with no answer. He's still due for a long innings.

6.2 Ben Cutting has been promoted up the order. Can he continue this positive start?

Googly, Cutting defends it, no run.

6.3, Mishra to Cutting, short outside off, placed down mid-wicket for a single

6.4 Mishra to de Kock, fuller length ball, no run

6.5 and 6.6

de Kock manages a single off the last ball. Mishra has mixed it up really well here.

7.1 Axar Patel to de Kock, no run. DC have broken MI's momentum here.

7.2-7.4

Three singles taken, these two are looking to steady the ship by rotating strike

Ben Cutting is gone!

7.5 The experiment fails, as Cutting is trapped in front for LBW. MI have lost their second, as DC spinners continue to pile pressure.

63-2 in 8 overs

7.6 Patel to S Yadav, single down the ground. MI have lost two wickets in as many overs.

8.1 Mishra to S yadav, beautifully flighted, defended for no run

8.2 Mishra to Yadav, single, swept to fine leg

Appeal but pitching outside!

8.3 Mishra to de Kock, the batsman is caught in front but the ball has pitched outside

8.4 Short length, de Kock cuts it through covers, single

8.5 Mishra to Yadav, driven down the ground, single. Mishra got his hand to that but couldn't stop it.

70-2 after 9 overs.

8.6 FOUR! Much needed boundary, as it was looking like DC were all over MI. de Kock produces a fine shot.

9.1 Good length, drfting in from Axar, Yadav guides it down mid on for a single

9.2 Axar to de Kock, single down mid-wicket

9.3 Axar to Yadav, single down the ground

9.4 Axar to de Kock, pulled down the leg side for a single

MI lose their third! In the worst possible way!

9.5 de Kock is run out! That's a shame! Yadav struck it, and de Kock set off. Due to the miscommunication, only the latter completed the run.

75-3 after 10 overs.

10.1 Mishra to Yadav, the paddle comes out, clever strike down fine leg for a boundary! That's four.

10.2 Mishra to Yadav, well-placed strike, Rabada mops up but the batters take two

10.3 Mishra to Yadav, one run, cut away for a single

10.4 Mishra to Krunal, fuller length delivery, pushed down the ground for a single

10.5 Mishra to Yadav, chipped down the ground for 1 run

84-3 after 11 overs.

11.1 Patel to Yadav, no run, straight ball, hit back to the bowler

11.2 Axar to Yadav, length ball, cut straight to point, no run

11.3 Axar to Yadav, another easy single

11.4 Krunal dances down the wicket, pushes it through long off again for a single

12.1 Paul to Pandya, placed down third man for a single

12.2 Paul to Yadav, no run, he was cramped by that one

12.3 Paul to Yadav, whipped down mid-wicket for 1 run

12.4 Paul to Krunal, another single

12.5 Paul to Yadav, pushed to mid-wicket for a single

End of 14 overs - 100-3 in 14 overs.

That's 100 up for MI. With six overs to go, you'd reckon 155-160 is a fine total on this wicket.

14.1 Axar to Krunal, dot ball , good length outside off

14.2 Axar to Krunal, down long off, single

14.3 Patel to Yadav, flatter ball, straight back to the bowler

14.4 Patel to Yadav, one run, easily guided for a single

14.5 Patel to Krunal, one run, another single through long on

104/4 after 15.1 overs

15.1 Rabada strikes! Syuryakumar Yadav bent down and tried to use the pace to scoop it down fine leg, but an outside egde only meant that the ball landed in Pant's gloves.

135/4 after 18 overs. MI are aiming for a late flourish.

16 off this over! The Pandya brothers are turning it on here. The younger one of them carted Keemo Paul, with a six and a four.

150-4 after 19 overs.

Morris started off brilliantly, pitching it as full as possible and giving no length for the batsmen to free their arms.

He tactically won the battle, as he went around the wicket and aimed for the block hole. He gave away just five runs off his first fourdeliveries, but missed his length by a small margin in the final two balls.

And Hardik, rooted deep in his crease, flicked the first onefor a six over mid-wicket. And with the pressure on the bowler in the last ball, he guided it over fine leg for a boundary. Hardik's dangerous form continues.

End of the MI innings - 168/5 at the end of 20 overs.

The 50-run partnership came up between the brothers, with Hardik doing majority of the scoring.

However, Kagiso Rabada knew what to do, as he took the pace off the ball, bowled it just outside off and Pandya top-edged it. Nonetheless, he played a gem of an innings, scoring 32 off just 15.

The very next ball, Krunal Pandya got to the act, heaping one down the leg side for a four.

The last three overs yielded 50 runs, such was the power hitting from the visitors. However, Delhi will feel they can chase this on a slow wicket.

Do tune in for the chase!

Start of the DC innings

Hardik Pandya opened the bowling for MI, but strayed off line in the second delivery, aiding Prithvi Shaw with a boundary. The next ball, he was sent packing again, guilty of bowling too straight.

However, he finished the over well with three dot balls. 8/0 after the first over.

18/0 after 2 overs.

Rahul Chahar came in for the second, but Dhawan showed no mercy as he pulled out the sweep from his armoury and struck a couple of boundaries.

This has been a solid start from DC, as they are looking to attack from the outset.

28/0 after 3 overs.

Lasith Malinga ran in for the third over.

Spotting the batsmen's intent, he started with pace off the ball. The next ball, he gave way too much room to Dhawan, who out of all the batters, thrives on width.

A couple of deliveries later, the southpaw pulled one out of the top draw to smash another four. DC are looking like they are batting on a different wicket.

38/0 after 4 overs.

Jayant Yadav, making his debut for this season, came in to bowl this over.

He started off accurately, giving the ball as many revolutions as possible. Prithvi Shaw looked to target him, but the slowness of the pitch resulted in no boundary off his bat.

Shikhar Dhawan, albeit, stepped down the wicket with purpose and sent the ball for a maximum, over mid-wicket. He's looknig in some form today.

42/0 after 5 overs.

Owing to the destructive start from the hosts, Rohit Sharma handed the ball to his most reliable bowler - Jasprit Bumrah.

Shikhar Dhawan showed no mercy to his national teammate either, as he charged down the wicket and creamed one through extra cover, but straight to the fielder. Bumrah meanwhile, gave away no room.

He gave away just four from his first over. However, DC are in the driver's seat at present.

End of the powerplay, 48/0 after 6 overs.

Jayant Yadav ran in to bowl his second of the evening, and he started off well. The first four balls yielded just two runs. but Shikghar Dhawan's onsluaght continued as he carted the spinner for another boundary, down mid-wicket. Nonetheless, just four off the final over of the powerplay.

52-1 after 7 overs.

Rahul Chahar bowled his second over, and mmuch to the fielding side's interest, there was a hint of turn from the track.

The very next ball, Shikhar Dhawan attempted the reverse sweep but ended up shotting himself in the foot, as the ball nicked his pads and kissed the stumps.

The in-form Colin Munro walked in at number three, but he couldn't get going straight away.

57/1 after 8 overs.

Rohit Sharma resumed with spin from the other end as well, with Jayant Yadav bowling his third over.

Prithvi Shaw, surprisingly, continued to curb his natural instincts and took singles. Credit goes to Yadav, who bowled wicket-to-wicket and restricted the flow of runs.

All of a sudden, the strategic timeout seems to have worked in MI's favour.

Shaw departs as well, leaving DC in a spot of bother

Rahul Chahar sent Prithvi Shaw back, pitching it up and forcing the batsman to take the aerial route.

The ball before, Shaw had missed a full toss, causing a loud appeal from the bowler.

Colin Munro watchfully saw out the rest of the over, along with his skipper - Shreyas Iyer.

MI are back in the game, as Munro fails to deliver on this testing wicket

Rohit Sharma threw the ball to Krunal Pandya, who took little time to get into the game, as he pitched one in the block hole. Colin Munro had absolutely no answers to that.

The talk of the town, Rishabh Pant, came into bat with a huge responsibilty on his shoulders.

63/3 after 10 overs. This game is wide open.

Rahul Chahar is on a roll, as Shreyas Iyer records a rare failure

Rahul Chahar was brought back, and he produced a peach of a delivery to remove the otherwise solid Shreyas Iyer. The ball gripped off the surface and beat the batsman's defence to crash into off stump. What a delivery it was! DC are struggling big time, now.

Axar Patel joined Pant in the middle, but Chahar finished it really well, ending up with 3-19 from his quota of four overs.

69-4 after 12 overs.

Jayant Yadav was at his accurate best in his final over too, shipping just four runs. He has finished with none for 25. DC have amassed just 31 from their last 48 deliveries.

73/4 after 13 overs.

Rohit Sharma seemedto be sticking with spin, as he recalled Krunal Pandya. Just four runs came off this over too, with even Rishabh Pant not finding the boundary ropes.

Rishabh Pant departs, Bumrah strikes, Delhi is disarray

Rohit Sharma brought back his strike bowler Bumrah, who had bowled just one over prior to this one. The required run rate, meanwhile, crept over 14 for DC, who were at one stage on top of their game.

Bumrah, as usual, was tidy with line and length.

The fifth ball jagged back, cleaning up the defence of Rishabh Pant. Delhi are all but done and dusted here.

86/5 after 15 overs.

Lasith Malinga, the death bowling specialist, piled further misery on DC, pitching it right up and targetting the wickets.

As a result, the duo of Axar Patel and Chris Morris couldn't get anything away.

The required run rate is now almost 17 for DC.

96/5 after 15 overs.

Jasprit Bumrah sprinted in for his third over, but Morris showed no mercy as he firmly struck the ball down the ground for a six. The next ball, however, Bumrah replied with a well-crafted slower delivery.

He registered a fine comeback, giving awau just four from the last four balls.Delhi Capitals require another 73 runs with 5 wickets and 24 balls remaining.

It's all but over for DC

Axar Patel welcomedLasith Malinga with a monstrous six, but the Sri Lankan finished the over quite well. In the last couple of balls to Axar, he executed the perfect yorker.

The final ball, Morris found Hardik Pandya at long on.

BOOM BOOM Bumrah!

Jasprit Bumrah bowled a dot ball first up, but an onrushing Keemo Paul was made to go back as Axar refused to take the single. Bumrah picked up the ball, and on the half turn, hit the middle stump, running Keemo Paul out.

He disturbed the timber next ball again, but this time as a wicket.Delhi Capitals require another 60 runs with 2 wickets and 12 balls remaining.

Malinga mops up the innings

Lasith Malinga bowled a satisfactory second last over, although Amit Mishra had a piece of it once.

Delhi are done and dusted now.Delhi Capitals require another 50 runs with 2 wickets and 6balls remaining.

End of the second innings, MI win by 40 runs

DC - 128/9 in 20 overs.

MI have leapfrogged DC to go second on the table. They are doing it again after a slow start to the season, this being their fourth victory on the spin. Delhi meanwhile, succumbed to a permier display of quality spin bowling, masterminded by Rahul Chahar (3/19).

They had got off to a flyer early on, but a flurry of wickets in the middle overs led to their nemesis.
In the end, their innings never took off, and they lost by a massive runs.

That's all from me, Akarshak Roy, hope you enjoyed the coverage of this clash between DC and MI. Until then, good bye.