Mumbai Indians have found their talisman in Ishan Kishan. Not in the team at first, he crawls into the middle-order and then, an injury to their captain Rohit Sharma causes his elevation to the opener’s slot. He is the man who is making his presence felt as a match-winner at the top of the order. To credit him with a positive, fearless approach would be an understatement. Kishan has shown in a matter of weeks the transition from a side artist to a protagonist in the team composition of a robust Mumbai Indians unit.

Delhi, batting first on Saturday, managed a paltry 110. Trent Boult made in-roads into a strong batting line-up. Prithvi Shaw downwards, Delhi Capitals boast of a formidable batting line-up, but when Boult makes dents, Bumrah throttles. With both picking up three wickets apiece for not many, Delhi were suffocated to make a comeback in the game.

The Delhi boys needed to choke runs and that would come with early wickets. But the Kishan show didn’t permit casualties and his innings was yet another indication of the versatility of the Mumbai Indians talent along with their ability to adapt to positions the team management
allocates. His 72 off 47 balls was an expression of carpe diem—positive…fearless…in fact, audacious. He played like a young man, whose main desire is to make an impact.

Delhi have now lost four games on the trot. It’s time for them to regroup and break the monotony of losses during the business end of the tournament. They showed they are good to go the distance in the early part of the tournament, but this game is all about yesterday being history and the future being a mystery. Shreyas Iyer’s men will need to find their mojo sooner than later. Maybe, it’s a good time for them to sit back, unwind and watch an a Sean Connery-James Bond epic to spring back into positive action.