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DUBAI (Reuters): Defending champions Mumbai Indians moved closer to a fifth Indian Premier League (IPL) title on Thursday, steamrolling Delhi Capitals by 57 runs to sail into the 10 November final in Dubai.
Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan struck breezy fifties and Hardik Pandya provided the late surge to power Mumbai to a daunting 200-5.
Quicks Trent Boult and Jasprit Bumrah then triggered a spectacular top-order collapse from which Delhi, who managed 143-8, never recovered.
They will meet the winners of Friday’s eliminator – between Royal Challengers Bangalore and 2016 champions Sunrisers Hyderabad – in a playoff to decide the second finalist.
Put into bat, Mumbai suffered an early jolt when skipper Rohit Sharma was dismissed for a duck by Ravichandran Ashwin (3-29).
Quinton de Kock made a rapid 40 before falling to the off-spinner who also removed the dangerous Kieron Pollard for a duck.
In-form Yadav’s fluent 51 steadied Mumbai before Pandya combined with Kishan, who made 55 not out, to launch a blistering counter-attack.
Pandya, who hit 37 not out, smacked five sixes in his 14-ball blitz as he and Kishan plundered 55 runs in the last three overs.
The Mumbai fast bowlers then took over, effectively derailing Delhi’s chase with the first eight deliveries of their innings.
Boult struck twice in the first over – dismisssing Prithvi Shaw and Ajinkya Rahane – before Bumrah bowled Shikhar Dhawan to reduce Delhi to 0-3.
Australian Marcus Stoinis made a defiant 65 but Bumrah (4-14) returned to send down a maiden two-wicket over which effectively sealed the contest in Mumbai’s favour.
