Follow UsIt was Karun Nair's comeback game in the Indian Premier League and he showed no signs of nerves. After having a massive season in domestic cricket for Vidarbha, where he was plundering runs for fun, Nair smashed Mumbai Indians bowlers to smithereens to score 89 runs off just 40 balls to give Delhi Capitals a genuine chance at victory.
It was not to be, as the troika of Trent Boult, Karn Sharma, and Jasprit Bumrah turned the tide in the last five overs to hand Mumbai a win, but MI skipper Hardik Pandya was all praise for the Karnataka batter.
“The way he took on our bowlers, took his chances, and the way he executed. It shows the hard work he has put in. I think he took us by surprise,” Pandya said of Karun Nair.
Meanwhile, Karn Sharma picked up three wickets for just 36 runs in what was a valiant display of spin bowling. Hardik applauded the approach and added that the team's improved fielding standard helped them stay ahead in the game.
“Coming in and bowling the way he bowled showed a lot of heart, especially at a small ground like that. I always believe fielding is something that can change the game upside down. We were switched on, and they didn't give up. They got the chance and converted,” the Mumbai skipper added.
On the other hand, Delhi Capitals skipper Axar Patel rued the failure of the top order, for he believes overreliance on the middle order wouldn’t always help their cause.
“We had the game. I think we had soft dismissals from the middle order and some bad shots. We lost by 12 runs with an over to go, so we could still have won it. It can't happen that your lower-order batters will always come save you in chases,” Patel said.
“There are some odd days where you play wrong shots, so I don't think there is any point in thinking too much about it. I thought 205 was a great target because it was a good pitch and dew was also coming,” Patel added.