New Delhi [India]: Karun Nair’s sensational 89-run knock on his IPL return wasn’t enough to secure a victory for Delhi Capitals (DC), who suffered a dramatic batting collapse—marked by a hat-trick of run-outs—falling short by 12 runs against Mumbai Indians (MI) in their opening game of the season at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Sunday.
This result snapped DC’s four-match winning streak, pushing them to second place on the points table, while MI moved up to seventh with two wins and four losses.
Swing of fortunes: A game-changing 19th over 🤯
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 13, 2025
Recap the thrilling finish 🎥🔽 | #TATAIPL | #DCvMI | @mipaltan
Chasing 206, DC got off to a dreadful start as Jake Fraser-McGurk departed for a golden duck, caught by Will Jacks off Deepak Chahar on just the second ball of the innings.
Karun Nair, in red-hot form following a strong domestic season, came in as an Impact Player replacing Mukesh Kumar. The right-hander wasted no time, smashing MI pacers Trent Boult and Jasprit Bumrah with fearless strokeplay. He struck three boundaries off Boult in the second over and took down Bumrah with two fours in the fifth.
Nair guided DC past the 50-run mark in just 4.4 overs. He brought up his half-century in only 22 balls, including eight fours and two sixes. By the end of the powerplay, DC were flying at 72/1, with Nair unbeaten on 50 and Abishek Porel on 16.
𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗳𝘂𝗹. 𝗖𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹. 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵-𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿. 💪
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 13, 2025
Karn Sharma walks away with Player of the Match after a brilliant 3⃣-wicket haul that changed the course of #DCvMI 🔝
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The partnership continued to flourish, reaching 100 in nine overs and 113 by the 10th over. However, Porel’s innings came to an end on 33 (25 balls) after he mistimed a slog sweep against Karn Sharma and was caught at deep square leg.
Nair continued to dominate, hitting two more boundaries, but was eventually dismissed for a brilliant 89 off 40 balls (12 fours, five sixes) by Mitchell Santner. At 135/3, DC still looked in control, but things quickly unraveled.
Skipper Axar Patel fell to Bumrah for 9, and wickets tumbled rapidly. Karn Sharma removed Tristan Stubbs (1) and KL Rahul (15), reducing DC to 160/6. Vipraj Nigam briefly counter-attacked with a four and a six, but was stumped for 14.
Ashutosh Sharma kept hopes alive with two boundaries off Bumrah, but the game turned on its head in the 19th over. Ashutosh was run out for 17, followed by Kuldeep Yadav and Mohit Sharma—both also run out—completing a shocking hat-trick of run-outs.
DC were bowled out for 193 in 19 overs, handing MI a 12-run win. Karn Sharma (3/36) and Mitchell Santner (2/43) were MI’s standout bowlers, with Bumrah also picking up a wicket.
Earlier, MI posted 205/5 thanks to a composed half-century from Tilak Varma and key contributions from Suryakumar Yadav and Naman Dhir.
After winning the toss and opting to bowl, DC saw MI openers Rohit Sharma and Ryan Rickelton attack early, racing to 45/0 in four overs. Rohit fell for 18 in the fifth over, but Rickelton powered on with 41 off 25 balls before being bowled by Kuldeep Yadav.
Suryakumar Yadav made an instant impact, smashing his first ball for six. He and Tilak Varma played cautiously through the middle overs before unleashing on Mohit Sharma, scoring 14 in one over and 17 in another from Vipraj Nigam, which included a dropped catch by Tristan Stubbs.
Kuldeep struck again to remove Suryakumar for 40 (28 balls), while Vipraj dismissed Hardik Pandya cheaply. Naman Dhir joined Tilak and helped stabilize the innings. Tilak brought up his second consecutive IPL fifty in 26 balls and, despite a miscue late in the innings, added 59 off 33 balls (6 fours, 3 sixes). Dhir contributed a fiery 38 off 17 balls.
For DC, Kuldeep Yadav (2/23) and Vipraj Nigam (2/41) were the pick of the bowlers, while Mukesh Kumar also picked up a wicket.
Brief Score:
Mumbai Indians: 205/5 (Tilak Varma 59, Suryakumar Yadav 40; Kuldeep Yadav 2/23)
Delhi Capitals: 193 all out (Karun Nair 89, Abishek Porel 33; Karn Sharma 3/36)
Result: Mumbai Indians won by 12 runs.