Who would believe this man had been away from the Indian Premier League (IPL) for so long? Karun Nair marked his return for Delhi Capitals (DC) like a seasoned regular, showing no signs of rust. Making his comeback after 2022, Nair blazed his way to a sensational 89 off just 40 balls, almost single-handedly sinking Mumbai Indians (MI).
At the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Nair arrived at the crease after Jake Fraser-McGurk fell on the very first ball of the chase. Wasting no time, he settled in and launched a fierce counterattack, smashing 12 fours and 5 sixes in a fearless innings that electrified the home crowd. In fact he smashed a 50 after 7 years.
His 119-run partnership with Abishek Porel was equally memorable ！ it now stands as the second-highest stand for the second wicket or lower for DC against MI, only behind the 154-run partnership between JP Duminy and Shreyas Iyer in Delhi back in 2015.
However, after Karun Nair's dismissal, no other Delhi Capitals batter managed to settle at the crease for long. Abishek Porel followed soon after, scoring 33 off 25, while Axar Patel (9 off 6), KL Rahul (15 off 13), and Tristan Stubbs (1 off 4) failed to make an impact. For MI, Impact player Karn Sharma turned the tide, claiming three crucial wickets, with Deepak Chahar, Mitchell Santner, and Jasprit Bumrah picked up one each.
Earlier in the match, Tilak Varma anchored MI's innings with a gritty 59 off 33 balls, laced with 6 fours and 3 sixes, helping his team post a competitive 205 for 5. He received solid support from Ryan Rickelton (41), Suryakumar Yadav (40), and an unbeaten Naman Dhir (38*). For Delhi, Kuldeep Yadav was the standout bowler, finishing with impressive figures of 2 for 23 in his four overs, while Vipraj Nigam also chipped in with 2 for 41.
Delhi Capitals (Playing XI): Jake Fraser-McGurk, Abishek Porel, KL Rahul(w), Tristan Stubbs, Axar Patel(c), Ashutosh Sharma, Vipraj Nigam, Mitchell Starc, Mohit Sharma, Kuldeep Yadav, Mukesh Kumar
Impact Subs: Darshan Nalkande, Karun Nair, Sameer Rizvi, Donovan Ferreira, Dushmantha Chameera
Mumbai Indians (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma, Ryan Rickelton(w), Will Jacks, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya(c), Naman Dhir, Mitchell Santner, Deepak Chahar, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah
Impact Subs: Corbin Bosch, Robin Minz, Ashwani Kumar, Raj Bawa, Karn Sharma
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