Krunal Pandya tears Delhi apart with strong all-round show

Krunal Pandya turned Mumbai's fortunes with an impressive all-round display - that included a 37-ball 86 and two wickets with the ball - to help his side thrash Delhi by a massive 80-run margin in the Indian Twenty20 competition in Visakhapatnam on Sunday.

Zaheer Khan, Delhi's captain, won the toss and opted to bowl first on what he called a "tricky wicket". Delhi included two spinners, in Shahbaz Nadeem and Imran Tahir, in their bid to trouble Mumbai's batsmen already struggling for consistency.

Rohit Sharma and Martin Guptill refused to hand Delhi the early advantage and added 46 runs before Sharma fell for a 21-ball 31 in the seventh over. Pandya was promoted and he didn't disappoint and cut loose at the onset.

The left hander first tore into Amit Mishra in the ninth over and lofted him for a six and a four to signal the start of an innings punctuated with seven fours and six sixes. Pandya didn't spare even googlies from Mishra and Tahir and heaved across the line repeatedly to find the fence.

The Pandya-Guptill combine took 23 from Tahir in the 13th over, with Guptill first hitting him for consecutive sixes and then Pandya ending the over with a six and a four. Pandya then hit Nadeem for a four and a six in the next over to complete his 50 from just 22 balls.

Guptill's departure an over later didn't affect Pandya's aggressive posture as he dispatched Mishra for two sixes and a four in the 16th. Chris Morris finally dismissed Pandya in the 18th over, but the damage had already been done, and Mumbai posted a formidable 206.

Quinton de Kock added a quick fire 28-ball 40, before Pandya dismissed him in the 10th over. Rishabh Pant and Morris were the only other Delhi batsmen who got starts. But the duo failed to capitalize. Delhi managed just 126 in reply. Pandya ended with figures of 2 for 15 in 2.1 overs.

"I was happy with the way I played. I knew there were two legspinners and one left-arm spinner and I hit the big shots. I was just going with the flow and I was just picking the googlies," Pandya said. "To Polly, I showed my power and took the bowlers on. I asked Polly to give the strike so that I could hit. I just want to dedicate this innings to my parents, Hardik. Hardik really encourages me. I also want to thank my coach Jitendra Singh."