After his first Indian Premier League game as an opener was a massive hit, Marcus Stoinis failed to bring back that form in the ongoing tournament final against Mumbai Indians at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
Choosing to bat first, all-rounder Stoinis departed off the very first ball of the match which was bowled by Trent Boult.
Stoinis, who has been DC's highest scorer this season after Shikhar Dhawan and captain Shreyas Iyer, thus became the first player to be out for a first ball duck in an IPL final.
DC went on to lose three wickets in the powerplay -- a first for any team since the 2013 final between MI and Chennai Super Kings. Both teams had lost their top three batsmen within the first six overs seven years ago.
Mumbai, whose chances of winning are more than great, will break the odd-year curse of lifting the trophy. The Rohit-led side have won in 2013, 2015, 2017 and 2019. Rohit has also never lost a final, and from the current condition of the match, that streak is likely to continue.
Boult, meanwhile, has been lethal in the powerplay overs this season. In the 36 overs he has bowled, the New Zealander picked 16 wickets, which is the joint most for any bowler in the history of the IPL. Boult shares the record with Aussie pacer Mitchell Johnson, who also did it for Mumbai Indians in the 2013 season.
The publishers permit sharing of the paper's PDF on WhatsApp and other social media platforms.)