Dubai/ Abu Dhabi, Oct 30 : Mumbai Indians (MI) strolled to a nine-wicket win over Delhi Capitals (DC) in the Indian Premier League today.

Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult wreaked havoc on the DC batting lineup, restricting them to 110 for 9 wickets and Ishan Kishan’s unbeaten 72 saw helped them overhaul the target with nearly six overs to spare.

On the other hand, a collective batting effort guided Rajasthan Royals (RR) to a much needed seven-wicket win against the Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) at the IPL yesterday.

The new scoreboard

With two points from today’s win Mumbai’s tally has gone up to 18, with one match still to play, and they have qualified for the playoffs. Delhi are placed third with 14 points, the same as Royal Challengers Bangalore, who are second and have a better net run rate than Delhi.

Yesterday’s helped RR to the fifth position on the table, one higher than their previous seventh spot, with 12 points. RR are also level on points with Kolkata Knight Riders whom they replaced at the sixth spot.

Though Chris Gayle’s swashbuckling 99 went in vain in yesterday’s match, KXIP, managed to retain the fourth position with 12 points.

MI’s superb innings

Kishan hit eight fours and three sixes off 47 balls and shared a 68-run opening partnership with Quinton de Kock before putting up 43 for the second with Suryakumar Yadav at the Dubai International Stadium.

Earlier, Boult and Bumrah took three wickets each as they decimated the DC batting lineup. DC openers Shikhar Dhawan and Prithvi Shaw both fell to Trent Boult in the first three overs after which captain Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant held on until the 11th over. Iyer was eventually was stumped off Rahul Chahar in the 11th over after which Bumrah ran through the DC batting order.

Pant, Marcus Stoinis and Harshal Patel all fell to him and DC were left 87/7 wickets at the end of the 16th over. Kagiso Rabada led the effort from the lower middle order and took them past the 100-run mark.

RR’s innings

Chasing a decent 186-run target, Ben Stokes (50) and Robin Uthappa (30) handed an ideal start to their side, adding 54 runs in the initial five overs with the former scoring in bulk. Ten runs later, Chris Jordan (1/44) came with the first break, dismissing Stokes in the sixth over when he had just completed his half-century.

Sanju Samson (48) and Uthappa then added 51 runs for the second wicket as RR crossed the three-digit mark in 9.3 overs. Murugan Ashwin (1/43) got the better of Uthappa in the 11th over which saw RR at 111/2.

RR skipper Steve Smith (31 not out off 20) then gave company to Samson for a brief 34-run stand before a run-out saw the latter walking back to the dug out in the 15th over.

With some fireworks in the middle, Smith and Jos Buttler (unbeaten 22 off 11) then took the Punjab bowlers to cleaners as the pair amassed 41 runs off just 19 balls to help RR cross the line with 15 balls and seven wickets to spare.

KXIP’s performance

For KXIP, M Ashwin and Jordan managed a wicket apiece while the others remained wicketless.

Earlier, Gayle’s blistering 99 and KL Rahul’s scintillating 46 took KXIP to 185/4 in the allotted 20 overs.

Asked to bat, Punjab was jolted early as Jofra Archer (2/26) struck in the very first over to send back opener Mandeep Singh for a duck.

Rahul and Gayle then took control of the proceedings, forging a crucial 120-run stand for the second wicket.

With all the Royals bowler struggling, Ben Stokes (2/32) came with a major relief when he dismissed the Punjab skipper, who missed his half-century merely by four runs, in the 15th over.

Nicholas Pooran (22) and Gayle were then involved in a 41-run stand as KXIP crossed the 150-run mark.

Stokes then accounted for the wicket of Pooran, leaving KXIP at 162/3 in 18 overs.

While trying to escalate the run-rate, Gayle tried to go big against Archer in the last over but the England bowler had the last laugh as he castled Gayle, who missed a well-deserved ton by a run. Gayle’s knock was laced with six boundaries and eight huge sixes.

During his knock, Gayle became the first batsman to get to 1,000 sixes in T20 cricket history when he smashed the seventh of his eight sixes.

“Oh 1,000 sixes! I do not know the record [of 1,000 sixes]. Still have to be hitting it well at the age of 41. Got to give thanks for that,” said Gayle when told about his milestone.

Brief scores of the two matches

DC 110/9 wkts in 20 overs (Shreyas Iyer 25, Rishabh Pant 21; Jasprit Bumrah 3/17) lost to MI 111/1 wkts in 14.2 overs (Ishan Kishan 75 not out, Quinton de Kock 26; Anrich Nortje 1/25) by nine wkts

Rajasthan Royals 186/3 wkts in 17.3 overs (Ben Stokes 50, Sanju Samson 48; Murugan Ashwin 1/43) beat Kings XI Punjab 185/4 wkts in 20 overs (Chris Gayle 99, KL Rahul 46; Jofra Archer 2/26) by 7 wickets. (GloFans/IANS)