Shepherd helps Mumbai break losing slump

MUMBAI, India (CMC):

West Indies all-rounder Romario Shepherd produced a stunning 10-ball cameo and also weighed in with the ball in a Man of the Match effort, as Mumbai Indians beat Delhi Capitals by 29 runs in a high-scoring contest to earn their first win of the new Indian Premier League season.

Sent in at the Wankhede Stadium yesterday, the home side piled up a record 234 for five from their 20 overs, with opener Rohit Sharma top-scoring with 49 from 27 balls, Tim David punching an unbeaten 45 from 21 deliveries and opener Ishan Kishan getting 42 from 23 balls.

Entering at number seven, the broad-shouldered Shepherd blasted an unbeaten 39, including three fours and four sixes, while captain Hardik Pandya chipped in with 39 from 33 balls.

In reply, South African Tristan Stubbs lashed an amazing 25-ball 71 with three fours and seven sixes, and opener Prithvi Shaw, a scintillating 66 off 40 deliveries as Delhi put up a strong fight before ending on 205 for eight from their 20 overs.

Fast-bowler Shepherd sent down four overs which cost 54 runs, but he accounted for the key wicket of veteran David Warner at the top of the order, deceiving the Australian left-hander with a slower ball and having him caught at mid-on in the fourth over for 10, with 22 on the board.

Another South African, seamer Gerald Coetzee, spearheaded the Mumbai attack with four for 34.

Without a win in their first three games of the season, Rohit and Ishan handed Mumbai the ideal start when they put on 80 off 42 balls for the first wicket.

Rohit counted half-dozen fours and three sixes, while Ishan struck four fours and a couple of sixes, the latter adding a further 30 for the third wicket with Hardik before departing in the 11th over.

When the innings slipped to 121 for four in the 13th over, Hardik and David posted another 60 for the fifth before Shepherd arrived to dominate a 53-run, unbroken sixth- wicket partnership with David to propel Mumbai to their highest-ever total at the Wankhede.

The final over was a spectacle, Shepherd shredding Anrich Nortje by single-handedly smashing 32 runs off the South African quick.

Facing a difficult chase, Delhi were set back when Shepherd knocked over Warner, but Shaw helped revive the innings in an 88-run, second-wicket partnership with Abishek Porel (41), counting eight fours and three sixes.

Porel put on a further 34 for the third wicket with Stubbs, who then added 41 for the fifth with Axar Patel (8) before a clatter of wickets derailed the chase.

In Lucknow in the north, former West Indies white-ball skipper Nicholas Pooran struck an unbeaten 32 off 22 deliveries with three sixes as Lucknow Super Giants won their third in four outings with a comfortable 33-run victory over Gujarat Giants.