In a thrilling encounter at Arun Jaitley Stadium on Sunday, the Delhi Capitals faced their first setback of IPL 2025, falling short by 12 runs against the Mumbai Indians. Despite a strong innings from Karun Nair, who scored an impressive 89 off 40 balls, the Capitals couldn’t quite chase down the formidable target of 206.
It's a learning for all of us. I'm disappointed that we couldn't win the match. We lost wickets at regular intervals, which made it tough at the end. We needed a set batter to stay till the end."
Reflecting on the match in a post-game press conference, Nair stated
Commenting on his own performance, the right-handed batter explained his mindset going into the game: "We lost an important player in Faf (du Plessis). We always knew that some of us sitting outside had to be ready at any given time. Mentally, I was prepared and looking forward to the chance whenever it came. I'm really happy that I got the opportunity."
I felt like I am well prepared to play in the IPL if given the opportunity. It was all about ensuring I was ready for the game, and I had been doing my bit to prepare.
Nair was clearly confident in his preparedness for the IPL:
When it came to tackling superstar bowler Jasprit Bumrah, Nair shared tactical insights: "It was about picking the right balls and targeting the areas I wanted to play. He is the best bowler at the moment in world cricket, so I had to be very watchful of where he was bowling. But again, I just backed myself and trusted the areas where I wanted to score."
With four wins under their belt and this narrow defeat, Delhi Capitals currently sit at second in the points table. They will look to bounce back in their upcoming match against Rajasthan Royals on Wednesday, April 16, at Arun Jaitley Stadium.
Brief Scores: Mumbai Indians 205/5 in 20 overs (Tilak Varma 59, Ryan Rickleton 41; Kuldeep Yadav 2-23, Vipraj Nigam 2-41) beat Delhi Capitals 193 all out in 19 overs (Karun Nair 89, Abishek Porel 33; Karn Sharma 3-36, Mitchell Santner 2-43) by 12 runs.
