A disappointing result for the Delhi Capitals in Mumbai means we are out of contention for the TATA IPL 2025 Playoffs. In a must-win match against Mumbai Indians, we couldn’t get over the line; as a result, our top-four ambitions ended.
The day began on a sad note for us, as skipper Axar Patel was ruled out due to an illness. Faf du Plessis took over as captain and won the toss as well, electing to field first.
On a tricky batting wicket, our bowlers got off to a good start, getting the important wicket of Rohit Sharma early on. Will Jacks and Ryan Rickleton threatened to put up a big partnership, but both batters fell in quick succession. Mukesh got rid of Jacks, while Kuldeep dismissed Rickleton to pick his 100th IPL wicket.
Tilak Varma and Suryakumar Yadav had a tough outing against our spinners, who were breathing fire on the slow track. The duo stitched a 55-run partnership, but the scoring rate was under eight. However, Suryakumar and Naman Dhir put on a massive finishing act in the last two overs, which helped MI get to 180/5 in 20 overs.
Our leg-spinning duo of Vipraj Nigam and Kuldeep Yadav collectively gave only 47 runs in eight overs. Mukesh Kumar picked up two wickets.
After the break, we lost our openers early and the slowness on the track made it difficult for us to get runs quickly. However, Sameer Rizvi and Vipraj Nigam showed great resolve to keep us in the hunt for a while.
Vipraj straight away went after the spinners and got some vital runs, while Rizvi took his time to settle in. However, the task at hand was a bit too much for the middle order and once Vipraj was dismissed, the innings began spiralling.
A hard-fought 39-run knock from Rizvi remained our only positive, who put on a decent partnership with Ashutosh Sharma to get us past the 100-run mark. Eventually, we were bowled out for 121 runs in 18.2 overs, conceding a 59-run win to the Mumbai Indians.
With this result, the four teams for the playoffs have now been locked. Punjab Kings, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Gujarat Titans and Mumbai Indians are through to the knockouts.
In our final match of the season, we will face the Punjab Kings in Jaipur.
Brief Scores
Mumbai Indians 180/5 in 20 overs (Suryakumar Yadav 73*; Mukesh Kumar 2/48) beat Delhi Capitals 121 all out in 18.2 overs (Sameer Rizvi 39)
Player of the match: Suryakumar Yadav
