DELHI, India (AP) — Put into bat, Mumbai had opener Ryan Rickelton hit 41 off 25 balls. Suryakumar Yadav scored 40 off 28, with the duo hitting two sixes each.
Kuldeep Yadav took 2-23 in four overs, signaling a slower surface at Delhi. Tilak Varma then hit six fours and three sixes, notching a second half-century this season.
Naman Dhir provided the finishing touch and used the short boundaries to good effect – he scored 38 not out off 17 balls, with two sixes, adding 62 off only 33 balls with Varma.
The duo pushed Mumbai past 200 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.
In reply, the hosts lost Jake Fraser-McGurk for a golden duck, but Karun Nair returned to IPL action with a half-century after seven years. The impact player scored 89 off 40 balls, hitting five sixes and putting on 119 off 61 balls with Abhishek Porel (33).
Delhi were ahead at the halfway stage when the wet ball was changed, and Mumbai’s spin sprung into action. Karun Nair, who was batting on 89 runs off 40 balls, was dismissed by Mitchell Santner. He took two wickets, while Karn Sharma added three scalps to his bowling figures.
Karn Sharma got rid of Porel and then sent back in-form Lokesh Rahul for 15. Santner bowled Nair in the 12th over in a game-changing moment.
Delhi’s lower order collapsed under pressure, losing the last four wickets for just 13 runs, including a hat trick of runouts for the final three wickets.
Mumbai climbed to seventh with its second win, while Delhi slipped to second with its first loss this season.
Meanwhile, MI captain Hardik Pandya was running out of options when Karun was in the middle, and he hailed the batter for his impressive return to the IPL. Nair didn’t play an IPL game in the previous two seasons.
“Winning is always special. We were not there in the game till the 13th over, but we fought back. We were running out of ideas when Karun Nair was batting, and he took us by surprise. Good for him, as he has been working hard in the last few years,” he said.
Hardik also lauded his players. “Karn Sharma bowled well for us and took key wickets. Fielding always plays a role, and we ran out three DC batters. I told the boys during the strategic timeout to keep fighting and don’t give up. I wanted them to show their character,” he added.
