MUMBAI — Mumbai Indians kept their hopes of qualifying for playoffs alive by beating Delhi Daredevils by 15 runs in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2014 here Friday. Mumbai stays fifth with 12 points after 13 matches, pushing Delhi to the bottom. Michael Hussey's knock of 56 helped Mumbai register 173 in 19.4 overs. After a fine start, Delhi Daredevils lost their way. After Kevin Pietersen was cleaned up by veteran off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, Manoj Tiwary and JP Duminy tried their best in vain and ended up 158-4. Brief scores: Mumbai Indians 173 in 19.4 overs (Michael Hussey 56, Lendl Simmons 35; Imran Tahir 3 for 37). Delhi Daredevils 158 for 4 in 20 overs (Kevin Pietersen 44, JP Duminy 43; Merchant de Lange 2 for 32). In the second match at Mohali, Kings XI Punjab maintained their top position by making short work of Rajasthan Royals by 16 runs. Punjab remains atop with 20 points from 13 matches. Rajasthan stays fourth with 14 after 13 matches. Rajasthan Royals' batsmen never got going, while chasing down a target of 180. They finally ended up with 163-8. Earlier, helped by Shaun Marsh's 40 Punjab posted a decent total of 179-4. Brief scores: Kings XI Punjab 179 for 4 in 20 overs (Shaun Marsh 40, David Miller 29 not out; Rahul Tewatia 1 for 24). Rajasthan Royals 163 for 8 in 20 overs (Sanju Samson 30, Brad Hodge 31; Akshar Patel 3 for 24, Karanveer Singh 2 for 16). Afridi may quit ODIs after 2015 World Cup Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi says he might retire from One-Day Internationals after the World Cup next year and just concentrate on Twenty20s. Afridi quit Test cricket four years ago after playing just 27 Test matches, but the hard-hitting all-rounder is a regular member of the limited-over teams. He has played in three World Cups, and captained the team to the 2011 semifinals, after which differences with Pakistan Cricket Board officials made him quit the captaincy. Pakistan's most capped T20 player, Afridi was only two games shy of Inzamamul Haq's national ODIs record of 375. “The 2015 World Cup (in Australia and New Zealand) is important for two, three senior members of the team. I may retire after it and continue playing Twenty20 cricket,” Afridi said Friday in Lahore. “I've always said that my cricket is attached with my fitness and performance, and I will take the final decision after seeing my performance in 2015.” Afridi was in favor of performance-based central contracts, and said if someone performed throughout the year he should get the A-plus category, and if a senior player's contract was reduced due to performance, he should accept it. He said he still wished to be captain again. “It's (captaincy) not a bed of roses, it's an honor for a player,” he said. — Agencies
