New Delhi: Skipper Virender Sehwag slammed an explosive 73 and shared a scintillating 135-run opening stand with Mahela Jayawardene (55) to lead Delhi Daredevils to a crushing 37-run win over Mumbai Indians in an Indian Premier League match, here on Friday.
Delhi put on board a mammoth 207 for five after electing to bat and then restricted Mumbai to 170 for nine to become the only team in the current edition to have scored wins against the same rival both at home and away.
If Delhi out-bowled them in the first leg, the troika of Sehwag, Jayawardene and Pietersen out-batted them in this encounter to help the hosts continue their domination at the top with 12 points eight games.
Mumbai lost their batting mainstay Sachin Tendulkar (7) in the very third over off Morne Morkel’s bowling, offering an easy catch to mid-off.
Rohit Sharma (12) was out in the next over and it became a tall-order for MI batsmen although Ambati Rayudu (62 off 39) and Dinesh Karthik (40 off 28 balls) tried their best with a 95-run fourth wicket partnership.
Once Shahbaz Nadeem (2/35) removed Rayudu and Kieron Pollard (16) in the 16th over, the match was over as a contest.
The day however belonged to the trio of Sehwag, Jayawardene and Pietersen who pulverized MI bowlers with some real power-hitting.
Sehwag who hit eight fours and four sixes added 135 runs for the opening stand with Jayawardene (55 off 42 balls as Mumbai Indian bowlers were sent on a leatherhunt.
Pietersen smashed an unbeaten 50 off 26 balls (6×4, 3×6) towards the end to beef up the total.
Sehwag and Jayawardene batted in contrasting styles yet got runs with consummate ease. While Sehwag made a mockery of the opposition bowlers with his power-hitting, Jayawardene was more intent on caressing the ball to the boundary.
Not to forget Pietersen who scored a 50 off only 26 balls and added 41 runs in only 2.4 overs with Ross Taylor (15) as Daredevils crossed the 200-run mark.
The onslaught started in the third over when Jayawardene decided to launch into Malinga hitting him for three boundaries.