India and Delhi Capitals pacer Mohit Sharma celebrates his 32nd birthday on Friday (September 18). Hailing from Haryana, the right-arm fast bowler has all the attributes to torment batsmen in the white-ball cricket. Sharma can extract swing from the new ball and his prowess in the death overs has given a headache to many prominent batsmen. The pacer has a variety of slower deliveries in his arsenal through which he has restricted the run flow numerous times. Sharma has showcased his prowess in the Indian Premier League (IPL) too where he’ll play for Delhi Capitals in the upcoming season. R Ashwin Birthday Special: 4/34 vs KXIP & Other Staggering Performances by Delhi Capitals Spin Magician in IPL.
Sharma burst onto the scenes in IPL 2013 where he made debut for Chennai Super Kings. MS Dhoni brought the best out of the right-arm pacer took 20 wickets in 15 games with an economy rate of 6.43. The next season proved to be even better for Sharma as he bagged the purple cap, which is given to the highest wicket-taker of the tournament, with 23 scalps. In 2016, Sharma moved to Kings XI Punjab where he played for three more seasons. In IPL 2020, however, Mohit is set to make his debut for Shreyas Iyer’s Delhi Capitals. As the bowler turns a year older, let’s revisit some of his best IPL performances. Team DC Key Players for IPL 2020: Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer, Shikhar Dhawan and Other Cricketers to Watch Out.
3/10 vs Delhi Daredevils In 2013
CSK scored 169/4 while batting first as the Feroz Shah Kotla track looked good for batting. However, that wasn’t the case when Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) came out to bat. Sharma pierced the defences of David Warner and Virender Sehwag inside the powerplay overs, giving CSK total command of the match. As a result, DD got bundled out for 83 and lost the game by 86 runs.
4/14 vs Mumbai Indians In 2014
Rohit Sharma and Co got off to a flying start while batting first in Dubai. However, Mohit Sharma showcased an exhibition of death bowling and broke the backbone of MI innings. His slower deliveries proved to be too good for Ambati Rayudu and Kieron Pollard as Mumbai were restricted to 141/7. CSK didn’t face much trouble while chasing as they won the game by seven wickets.
3/23 vs Rising Pune Supergiant In 2016
Another Mohit Sharma special was seen when Kings XI Punjab met the now-defunct Rising Pune Supergiant in Mohali. Playing for KXIP, Sharma dismissed Faf du Plessis with the new ball before getting the better of Steve Smith and MS Dhoni. As a result, RPS could only post 152/7 and eventually lost the game by six wickets.
With the likes of Kagiso Rabada, Ishant Sharma, Anrich Nortje and Keemo Paul in the team, Mohit might not feature in DC’s initial playing XI. However, the pacer will undoubtedly come into play at some point as the pitches in UAE will certainly assist Sharma’s slower deliveries. Meanwhile, DC will start their campaign against KL Rahul’s Kings XI Punjab on September 20 at the Dubai International Stadium.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 18, 2020 08:00 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).