Published: May 07, 2017, 07:00 AM (IST)
Edited: May 07, 2017, 12:19 AM (IST)
Mumbai Indians (MI) continued their winning juggernaut in the ongoing 10th edition of Indian Premier League (IPL). After a historic chase of 209 runs, Delhi Daredevils faltered like a pack of cards bundling out for a mere 66 while chasing 213 runs to win. MI won the tie by 146 runs but most importantly they also became the first team to qualify for the playoffs of IPL 10. Batting first, it was the returning Lendl Simmons who struck a belligerent 66 off 43 that saw MI reach to a mammoth total. Adjudged Man of the Match, Simmons opened up about his mantra to fitness and good form despite warming the bench for a long time. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: Delhi Daredevils (DD) vs Mumbai Indians (MI), IPL 10 Match 45
“I have been practicing hard and working in the gym,” Simmons said. He also spoke in length about the pitch at Kolta and his game play in the initial few overs. “Think we did well. My game plan is to see off the first few overs and then assess the conditions. The surface was a bit slow but as the dew came, the ball came on to play. But it was a slow wicket,” Simmons quipped.
Simmons along with his West Indies teammate Kieron Pollard added 37 runs for the fourth wicket that laid the foundation of the onslaught in the death overs. ”We know each other’s game so we stick to our strengths,” Simmons said on Pollard and his partnership.
“No no total in mind, we wanted to keep the run-rate up and because we had wickets in hand, we could go for 200,” Simmons concluded while explaining MI’s game plan tonight.
