At a time when Covid-19 cases are on the rise in different states of India, Mumbai Indians owner Nita Ambani reminded MI players of the basic Covid protocols after they beat Delhi Capitals in their last home game at the Wankhede Stadium to qualify for the IPL playoffs. After MI beat DC by 59 runs to knock them out of the tournament and enter the last four with Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Gujarat Titans and Punjab Kings, Nita Ambani was seen asking Jasprit Bumrah to sanitise his hands before indulging in handshakes
Nita Ambani was seen pouring hand sanitiser on Bumrah’s palm, before moving on to do the same with MI leg-spinner Karn Sharma. Bumrah happily obliged Ambani’s request and only went forward with the celebration after sanitising his hands.
Photos of Nita Ambani sanitising Bumrah’s hands before a handshake went viral on Wednesday night.
MI all-rounder Deepak Chahar was also seen running around with a hand sanitiser, offering it to the MI and DC players.
MI captain Hardik Pandya used the fist bump instead of the handshake to thank the ground staff.
Covid-19 cases have been on the rise in various parts of India, such as Kerala, Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh. Currently, there are more than 250 active cases of Covid-19.
Even IPL was not spared. Sunrisers Hyderabad’s Australian opening batter Travis Head missed one match after testing positive for Covid-19. His arrival in India was delayed due to this.
Suryakumar Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah take MI into IPL playoffs
Suryakumar Yadav’s unbeaten 73 and a late blitz by Naman Dhir powered Mumbai Indians into the Indian Premier League playoffs with a 59-run hammering of Delhi Capitals on Wednesday.
In a two-way battle with Delhi for one play-off spot, Mumbai posted 180-5 and then bowled out the opposition for 121 in their home at the Wankhede Stadium.
Mumbai’s New Zealand spinner Mitchell Santner returned figures of 3-11 from his four overs. Pace bowler Jasprit Bumrah also took three wickets.
“I can throw them (Santner and Bumrah) the ball whenever I want,” Mumbai skipper Hardik Pandya said. “They bring such control and perfection, which makes my job easy.”
Five-time champions Mumbai have joined Gujarat Titans, Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Punjab Kings as the top four teams that will battle for the title in the playoffs starting May 29.
Delhi still have a match to go but can now only reach 15 points, while Mumbai have 16 points with one more game to play.
Mumbai turned around their fortunes midway through the season after they started with four losses in their first five matches. They now count seven victories in their last eight outings.
The final few games in the group phase will decide the play-off standings as the top two teams will have the advantage of having two shots at reaching the final on June 3.
