Simmons, Parthiv set up Daredevils rout
Lendl Simmons, playing his first game of the season, and Parthiv Patel added 76 runs in 52 balls after a slow start to set a strong base for Mumbai Indians' 212, a total they defended by 146 runs
ESPNcricinfo staff
07-May-2017
Lendl Simmons struck a quick 66 in his first game of the season • BCCI
Parthiv Patel had a new opening partner in IPL 2017 as Lendl Simmons, replacing Jos Buttler, was brought in for his first match of the season. After struggling for fluency in the first three overs, in which 18 runs were scored, both batsmen found their hitting rhythm relatively quickly.
Suddenly, Mumbai Indians were cruising at 60 for 0 at the end of the Powerplay. Parthiv's strongest shots are the cut and pull, and Delhi Daredevils' bowlers were guilty of feeding his strengths. Simmons raced away to another fifty-plus score for Mumbai, his 11th in 23 innings.
Simmons has also shared 10 fifty-plus opening stands in just 23 IPL games. By the time the stand was done - Parthiv was stumped off Amit Mishra - Mumbai's openers had set up a drubbing of Daredevils.