Sitting in a corporate box, looking sad, was Geoffrey Boycott among the 30,000 people in attendance at the Wankhede on Sunday afternoon. As a seasoned player who has consistently batted with a straight bat, one would have thought he wouldn’t love the T20 format, the IPL, and its powerful hitting. “Who said it?” he joked. Like everyone else, I find it enjoyable. I played 20-over cricket when I got my bat for the first time. That was sixty or seventy years ago.”
Boycott also appreciated Romario Shepherd’s batting, the Guyanese player who on Sunday redefined what it means to be powerful in cricket. Shepherd would be right up there among the power hitters, Chris Gayle, Andre Russell, Kieron Pollard, and Shimron Hetmyer included. With the greatest strike rate of any hitter who has faced more than ten deliveries in the IPL, 390, he literally hammered them all. “Well, it’s a really wonderful (feeling). Because every name you’re calling belongs to an IPL legend. Thus, it feels wonderful to see my name there with them, Shepherd remarked.
Despite a heroic effort from their batsmen, especially Prithvi Shaw (66 off 40) and Tristan Stubbs (71 not out off 25 deliveries), his undefeated 39 off 10 balls (three fours and four sixes) proved to be too much for Delhi Capitals. Shepherd’s unrestrained attack on Anrich Nortje may be considered the cricket equivalent of stealing – 4, 6, 6, 6, 4, and 6. The 32 runs from just six deliveries in the match’s last over gave the Mumbai Indians total the advantage. It might have also given the season’s campaign, which had been off course since the league’s founding, a boost. Nortje Tearaway scored 65 runs in his four overs.
“Those were really potent strikes; there was no technique to them. It’s all the bats fault. They resemble home runs and baseball hits. In the past, Mr. Bradman (Donald) utilized two-pound and four-ounce bats for his games. He only hit six sixes in his entire life. He was exceptionally intelligent. The bats now weigh three pounds each. Boycott offered an analysis on Shepherd’s smashes, saying, “It’s like the era of wooden racquet and modern racquets (they are made of materials like graphite, carbon fiber, or with a mix of all these materials).”
Shepherd’s bullets were so powerful that one seemed to be headed for the nearby Arabian Sea when it crossed the square leg barrier. The racing fielders were defeated by two consecutive four-ball hits at the long-off and long-on borders. One was a flat-batted hit over cover, while the other was a six-ball shot that looked like it came from a helicopter. It was all muscle, and in that over, Delhi and Nortje appeared to have lost the plot. 96 runs were hammered off the final five overs thanks to the 32-run over. It was full-fledged mayhem, and Mumbai Indians prevailed by 29 runs in the end thanks to a decisive 32-run final over.
After the game, Ishan Kishan remarked, “We were looking towards that one over; we know he’s very powerful and has the ability to clear boundaries.” “He has been working hard (even though he was not playing), always gave 100 per cent at the nets.” His wicket-winning partnership with Tim David for the sixth wicket propelled the MI total to an almost unbeatable 234 for 5, the greatest IPL total without a half-century from a batsman. In addition to Tim David (45 off 21), Rohit Sharma (49 off 27), Ishan (42 off 23), and Hardik Pandya (39 off 33) all contributed.
“It was really amazing how Romario batted. But keep in mind that Nortje is a seasoned pro. But Shepherd’s day was his. He batted in an incredible manner. However, 432 runs were scored, so all in all, it was a solid game, according to Delhi Capitals batting coach Pravin Amre.
“What I accomplished today hasn’t really hit home yet. To start with, the victory was more significant than anything else today because, as a team, we are not doing well. In light of the fact that we needed to win and that the coaches and everyone else were looking for someone to step up and perform heroically, the West Indian stated as the Mumbai Indians scored their first points of the game.
