Forty-eight runs scored in two overs at the end of the Mumbai Indians' innings proved the turning point as the five-time champions eventually romped to a 59-run victory over Delhi Capitals and sealed the fourth and final place in the playoffs stage of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 in Mumbai on Wednesday.
It was a must-win match for both Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals, and on a pitch that was slightly sluggish and on which the odd ball kept low and turned, Delhi Capitals had grabbed the advantage after choosing to bowl first at the Wankhede Stadium.
DC claimed early wickets of Rohit Sharma (5), Will Jacks (21) and Ryan Rickelton (25) and despite Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma (27) sharing a 55-run partnership for the fourth wicket, they had Mumbai Indians in a tight spot after they lost skipper Hardik Pandya (3) cheaply.
Mumbai Indians were 132/5 at the end of the 17th over, and it looked like they would barely cross 150, putting Delhi Capitals in a good position to grab two points.
But Suryakumar Yadav and Naman Dhir launched a ferocious attack, first on Mukesh Kumar in the 19th over and then on Dushmantha Chameera in the 20th over to score 27 and 21 runs respectively to help them reach a challenging total of 180/5. Suryakumar Yadav started the 19th over with a six and then ran a single. Dhir took over after that blasting 4, 6, 6, 4 for 27 runs. They hammered 4, 0, 6, 6, 4, 1 for 21 runs in the next over.
Felt we were excellent in the field - the guys showed great fight. The bowlers pitched up. Not the easiest pitch to bat on. We let it slip in the last two overs. 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
Suryakumar Yadav finished with an unbeaten 73 off 43 balls while Naman Dhir had 24 not out off 8 as Mumbai wrested back the initiative.
From the team's point of view, the knock was important today. It was really important for a single batter to bat till the end - we knew there was a 15-20 run over somewhere. The way Naman came in and shared that energy with me (was great
Mumbai Indians then bowled superbly, utilising the conditions to bundle out Delhi Capitals for 121 in 18.2 overs to seal a remarkable victory and a place in the playoffs. Sameer Rizvi (39) and Vipraj Nigam (20) tried to revive the innings from 65/5, but it was too late and too little for Delhi Capitals.
Experienced spinner Mitchell Santner claimed 3-11 while top pacer Jasprit Bumrah bagged 3-12 as they utilised the lack of pace in the pitch to their advantage. They varied their lengths and applied pressure from the start to subdue Delhi Capitals.
Sums up our season - we have been cold either in the batting or the bowling in the last seven or eight games. Perhaps a fair reflection (that we did not qualify)
Delhi Capitals had made a great start to the season by winning their first four games, but lost momentum in the later stages of the tournament and are now out of contention with a match against Punjab Kings to play.
Mumbai Indians are now firmly placed in fourth place with 16 points behind Gujarat Titans (18), Royal Challengers Bengaluru (17), and Punjab Kings (17), and can improve their position further if they win their last match against PBKS in Jaipur, and other teams drop some points.
Brief scores:
Mumbai Indians 180/5 in 20 overs (Suryakumar Yadav 73 not out, Tilak Varma 27, Naman Dhir 24 not out; Mukesh Kumar 2-48, Kuldeep Yadav 1-22) beat Delhi Capitals 121 all out in 18.2 overs (Sameer Rizvi 39; Mitchell Santner 3-11, Jasprit Bumrah 3-12) by 59 runs.
