IPL 2025 | "We were trying to just time the ball rather than muscle it": Naman Dhir

MI’s Suryakumar Yadav (right) and Naman Dhir during their unbeaten 57-run stand at Wankhede on Wednesday. Pic/Atul Kamble

Mumbai Indians's (MI) No. 4 Suryakumar Yadav and No. 7 Naman Dhir amassed 48 runs in the last 12 balls of their innings against Delhi Capitals (DC) at the Wankhede on Wednesday, which proved to be the difference in the end as the hosts won by 59 runs to seal a place in the Playoffs.

Put into bat, five-time champions MI managed were 132-5 at one stage with just two overs remaining. However, thanks to some big-hitting by Suryakumar (73 not out off 43 balls, 7x4, 4x6) and Dhir (8-ball 24 not out, 2x4, 2x6) in the last two overs, MI posted 180-5 in their allotted 20 overs. Dhir revealed how Suryakumar and he turned the equation in favour of the hosts by hammering pacers Mukesh Kumar (2-48) and Dushmantha Chameera (1-54) for 27 and 21 runs respectively.

"We were trying to keep things simple. The wicket was on the slower side, so we were trying to just time the ball rather than muscle it. That's what we practice daily. Talking to Polly [MI batting coach Kieron Pollard] and [skipper] Hardik bhai [Pandya] has helped me a lot," Dhir said at the post-match press conference.

MI's initial struggle

When asked about Suryakumar, Tilak Varma (27) and Hardik Pandya (3) struggling initially with the bat, Dhir said that the 49-ball 55-run fourth-wicket stand between Suryakumar and Varma was actually an impactful contribution. "I don't think those three struggled. That was such a time where we needed to preserve our wickets for the last [overs]. Surya and Tilak's partnership was very critical for us as the ball was turning a bit. So, they gave the lower-order batters a foundation to explore. I think that was a very clinical batting from both of them," said Dhir.

Meanwhile, DC head coach Hemang Badani admitted that his India pacer Mukesh and Sri Lankan Chameera failed to execute their plans in the death overs. "We could have gone for the cutters and wide yorkers. Even if you look to nail yorkers at this level, you would expect bowlers of international level to come and nail those balls. And if you don't do that, players like Surya will punish you," Badani said at the post-match presser.

With DC crashing out of the tournament after suffering their fifth defeat in the last seven games, Badani felt the lack of a good start by the openers caused the team's downfall.

Opening woes for DC

"We had Jake [Fraser-McGurk] at the top earlier, it didn't work. Then, Abishek [Porel], then Faf [du Plessis], we also had Karun [Nair]. It's just that we haven't had anyone ensuring that we got off to good starts. A settled opening pair is only possible when your opening pair gives you a start. If you don't get starts, you're bound to make changes to try and fill that gap," added Badani.

21
No. of runs scored by Suryakumar Yadav off DC's final over on Wednesday