Hardik Pandya couldn’t hide his relief after the Mumbai Indians managed to pull off a 12-run victory over the Delhi Capitals in Delhi on Sunday. The win was crucial for the Indians as they looked to turn their IPL season around. At one point, things looked pretty smooth for the Capitals, cruising at 119 runs for just one loss about halfway through their innings. But thanks to Karn Sharma, who took three wickets for 36 runs, the tide turned, and Delhi got bowled out for 193 runs in just 19 overs.
It was interesting to see how the decision to bring Karn into the attack came about. Rohit Sharma, the skipper, had suggested to coach Mahela Jayawardene that they should give Karn a shot. At the same time, he also requested to change the ball after the 11th over. Pandya, during the post-match interview, expressed how special the win felt, especially considering how tough the match was. He said, Winning is always special. Especially in games like this. You have to keep fighting, and it means a lot.
He had high praise for Karn, noting, “(Karn was) Fantastic. Coming in and bowling the way he bowled, showed a lot of heart, especially at a small ground like that.” On the other hand, Karun Nair’s explosive 89 runs didn’t help much in securing a win for Delhi. Pandya admitted they didn’t expect Nair to perform that way. We were running out of options regarding what to bowl at him. The way he took on our bowlers, took his chances, and executed everything was impressive and showed how hard he’s been working, he said.
The Capitals’ chase ended with a dramatic collapse; they saw three consecutive players run out, which turned the game on its head. Pandya mentioned how crucial fielding can be, stating, I believe fielding is something that can really change the game. We stayed alert, didn’t give up, and managed to make some chances count.
On the batting side of things, the Mumbai Indians set a solid target of 205 runs, driven by Tilak Varma’s explosive 59 runs off just 33 balls. Other contributors included Ryan Rickelton with 41 runs from 25 balls, Suryakumar Yadav’s 40 from 28 balls, and Naman Dhir, who chipped in with 38 runs off 17 balls.
Pandya spoke about their batting approach, saying, “It totally depends on the situation. We rely on our in-form players to take responsibility and face more deliveries.” He also noted how the dew factor played a role later in the game, reinforcing the importance of staying engaged until the last moment. “Just making sure the game is not over till it’s over. Keep fighting — that was the message in the team, and wins like this can totally shift the tide.”
From the Delhi Capitals’ perspective, their captain Axar Patel cited “soft dismissals from the middle order as a big reason for their loss but tried to stay positive about the future. “We had the game within our grasp, but then we made some poor shots. Losing by 12 runs with an over left is tough; we definitely had a chance to win, he reflected.
Axar believed that the lower order shouldn’t always be expected to pull them through. “Sometimes you just make poor decisions on certain days, and thinking too much about it doesn’t help. I thought we set a decent target of 205 given the conditions.” He acknowledged some missed chances in the field, which could have limited MI’s score, but also took time to praise his spin team. “If we had fielded better, perhaps we could’ve kept them below 200. But I have confidence in our spinners; they have been performing well this season.
“Whenever I need a breakthrough, I know I can rely on Kuldeep,” he continued. There were plenty of good things to take away from today; now we just have to move past this match and focus on what’s ahead.
