IPL 2025: “We Never Gave Up”: Hardik Pandya Praises MI’s Grit After Thrilling 12-Run Win Over DC

Karun Nair’s heroic 89 on IPL return goes in vain as MI hold nerves amidst dramatic Delhi collapse and hat-trick of run-outs.

New Delhi, April 14:
Mumbai Indians (MI) pulled off a sensational 12-run win over Delhi Capitals (DC) in a nail-biting encounter at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, thanks to a collective bowling effort and a crucial late-match hat-trick of run-outs. The victory snapped DC’s four-match winning streak and moved MI up to seventh place in the IPL 2025 points table.

Despite Karun Nair’s explosive 89 on his IPL comeback, DC faltered in the final overs, finishing at 193 all out in 19 overs while chasing 206.

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💬 Hardik Pandya on MI’s Grit: “We Never Gave Up”

MI skipper Hardik Pandya was all praise for his team’s resilience in the post-match presentation.

“He (Karun) was batting brilliantly, it seemed like it was going out of hand. But shows great character from Karn Sharma — to toss it up on a ground with 60-meter boundaries. We never gave up, kept saying let’s stay in the contest. Everyone put their hand up, and we held on to our chances,” Hardik said.

He further explained the batting reshuffle was meant to help out-of-form players spend more time in the middle and acknowledged that dew played a major factor.

“Wins like this change the momentum. The message was simple — don’t let go. A couple of wickets could flip the game. This will boost the morale,” Pandya added.

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🏏 How the Match Unfolded

Batting first, MI posted 205/5, riding on a 59-run knock from Tilak Varma, and key contributions by Suryakumar Yadav (40) and *Naman Dhir (38 off 17)**.

In reply, DC were jolted early with Jake Fraser-McGurk falling for a golden duck. Karun Nair kept DC alive with a 40-ball 89 laced with 12 fours and 5 sixes. He formed a solid 119-run stand with Abishek Porel (33), but once the duo departed, DC collapsed under pressure.

The final moments saw a stunning hat-trick of run-outs, including Ashutosh Sharma, Kuldeep Yadav, and Mohit Sharma, sealing the win for MI.

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🎯 Bowlers Seal the Deal for MI

• Karn Sharma (3/36): Key breakthroughs in the middle overs.
• Mitchell Santner (2/43): Broke the momentum with timely strikes.
• Jasprit Bumrah (1/44): Contained runs under pressure.
• Fielding unit: Crucial in effecting three late run-outs.

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📊 Points Table Impact

• DC slip to 2nd spot with 4 wins from 6 games.
• MI rise to 7th with 2 wins from 6 matches, reigniting their playoff hopes.

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Brief Score:

DC 193 all out in 19 overs (Karun Nair 89, Porel 33; Karn Sharma 3/36, Santner 2/43)
Result: Mumbai Indians beat Delhi Capitals by 12 runs.

MI 205/5 (Tilak Varma 59, Surya Kumar 40; Kuldeep 2/23)