Tim David's late cameo was instrumental in the Mumbai Indians's thrilling victory against the Gujarat Titans in the IPL 2022 match at the Brabourne stadium in Mumbai on Friday, May 6, 2022.
Singapore's David is one of the most sought after batters in T20 leagues around the world. The 26 year old boasts an impressive strike rate of 160 in 93 matches in his T20 career, with smashing performances in the Big Bash League, The Hundred and the Caribbean Premier League.
And it was not long before David left his mark on IPL 2022 as well, after making just one appearance with the Royal Challengers Bangalore last season.
At the IPL mega auction in February 2022, six teams had bid for David's talent. Mumbai Indians beat some stiff competition to sign him for a massive Rs 8.25 crore (Rs 82.5 million) after he had started with a base price of Rs 40 lakh (Rs 4 million).
David didn't have a great start to his career at the Mumbai Indians, scoring just 13 runs in his first two games before he was dropped for the next six games.
He bounced back with a quickfire 20 from nine balls against the Rajasthan Royals to lead MI to their first victory in IPL 2022. And carried that form into their next game against the Gujarat Titans, smashing an unbeaten 44 from 21 balls to rally MI to 177/6 after his team lost quick wickets in the middle overs.
MI stuttered after a good start, losing three wickets for 24 runs in five overs to be reduced to 120/4 in 15 overs.
The scene was set for another MI flop show before David boosted their hopes with back to back boundaries off Mohammed Shami in the 16th over.
He slammed Alzarri Joseph for a straight six in the 18th over and repeated the same dose with Lockie Ferguson in the 19th over.
David's not taking singles in the final over bowled by Shami puzzled many, but the right-hander was clear he had to take responsibility with the bat. He slammed Shami for a couple of sixes in the 20th over which went for 13 runs to justify his decision of keeping strike, finishing with a crucial 44 from 21 balls.
Mumbai owe a lot to Player of the Match David for their narrow victory as without his late fireworks, Gujarat may have easily chased down the target.
