Suryakumar Yadav's unbeaten 73 and a quickfire 24 from Naman Dhir helped Mumbai Indians secure a 59-run win over Delhi Capitals and confirm their place in the Indian Premier League playoffs on Wednesday.
In a direct contest for a playoff spot, Mumbai scored 180-5 and bowled Delhi out for 121 at the Wankhede Stadium.
Mitchell Santner returned figures of 3-11 from four overs, while Jasprit Bumrah also picked up three wickets.
"I can throw them (Santner and Bumrah) the ball whenever I want," Mumbai captain Hardik Pandya said. "They bring such control and perfection, which makes my job easy."
The five-time champions have now joined Gujarat Titans, Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Punjab Kings in the top four. The playoffs begin on May 29.
Delhi still have one game left but can only get to 15 points, while Mumbai have 16 points with one more match to go.
Mumbai recovered their campaign midway through the season after losing four of their first five games. They have now won seven of their last eight matches.
The final group games will determine the playoff positions, with the top two teams getting two chances to reach the final on June 3.
After being asked to bat first, Mumbai overcame an early top-order collapse, which included Rohit Sharma getting out for five. They rebuilt in the second half of the innings.
Suryakumar held firm in his 43-ball innings that included seven fours and four sixes, while Dhir added 24 not out from eight balls to boost the total.
Dhir hit two fours and two sixes off Mukesh Kumar in a 27-run 19th over. Suryakumar followed it up with 21 runs in the final over bowled by Dushmantha Chameera.
‘Let it slip’
"We let it slip in the last two overs," said Delhi stand-in captain Faf du Plessis, who stepped in for Axar Patel due to illness.
"Momentum is a real thing in cricket. The way they counter-punched to get almost 50 in the last two overs, undoing the work of the first 17-18 overs. We lost that momentum."
Du Plessis also said the team missed Australian bowler Mitchell Starc, who did not return after the IPL resumed following a pause caused by the India-Pakistan conflict.
The IPL resumed last Saturday with a revised schedule, leading some overseas players to change their season plans.
Tilak Varma added 27 runs in a 55-run stand with Suryakumar after Mumbai lost three early wickets.
Rohit was dismissed by Mustafizur Rahman in the third over, followed soon after by Will Jacks and Ryan Rickelton.
Rohit, who recently had a stand at the stadium named after him, had several fans dressed in white as a tribute to his recent retirement from Test cricket.
Delhi lost early wickets in the chase, starting with du Plessis falling for six in the second over.
Trent Boult dismissed KL Rahul for 11, and Jacks removed Abishek Porel for a single-digit score.
Wickets continued to fall, and Santner took two in one over to end Delhi’s resistance. They were bowled out in 18.2 overs.
(Inputs from agencies)
