Well begun is half done. That is what Delhi Capitals would be hoping after their victory over Mumbai Indians in their opening IPL 2019 clash at the Wankhede stadium. After being put into bat, Rishabh Pant's incredible 27-ball 78 helped them post 213/6 and that proved to be too much for MI despite Yuvraj Singh's fifty on his debut for the side.
Here are the three main takeaways from DC's win over MI:
Pant's golden run in IPL continues
Pant may not have taken his opportunity to cement his spot in the World Cup squad during the ODI series against Australia, but he took control of the first chance he got to showcase his skills in the IPL.
After scoring just one run off his first five balls, Pant unleashed an incredible onslaught that included seven sixes and seven fours. From all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who was hammered for a couple of sixes and a boundary to IPL debutant Rasikh Salam, off whom he did the same in the 19th over, Pant spared no one.
He was also brutal on Bumrah and continued his stunning run in the IPL, where he has now scored 535 runs in his last eight innings, which have included five fifties and a century.
MI's batting depth counts for nothing
On paper, MI's batting line-up should be able to scale any target that is set. Not only do they have a destructive opening pair of Quinton de Kock and Rohit Sharma but they also have the Pandya brothers, Yuvraj Singh and Kieron Pollard in the middle-order.
In fact, their batting is so deep that Ben Cutting only came in at No.8. Yet all their depth counted for nothing against Delhi, where they just failed to click as a unit.
Both openers got starts but didn't capitalize on it, Pollard and Krunal started to get going but the game was slowly slipping away even then. Only Yuvraj scored a fifty and even that wasn't enough in the end.
MI's pace problems getting even worse?
After losing Adam Milne and Lasith Malinga, Mumbai Indians had to field 17-year-old Rasikh Salam in their IPL 2019 opener.
If that wasn't hard enough, on a day when all their bowlers went for runs (no bowler had an economy rate under 10), Jasprit Bumrah had to be taken off the field and injuring his shoulder.
With concerns over workload and the World Cup just around the corner, MI's bowling attack looks like it might need reinforcement sooner rather than later.