Mumbai Indians on Sunday clinched a thriller in the IPL 2025, defeating Delhi Capitals by 12 runs in Delhi. At one point of time, it seemed Delhi Capitals would run away with the game with Karun Nair on fire in a 206-run chase. DC were 145 for 4, needing 61 runs in the remaining 7 overs to win. MI requested for the ball change and it was approved by the umpires, and what came next was a perfect thriller. It was Rohit Sharma, who played a masterstroke. He was in the dugout, when in the 14th over, Rohit as Karn Sharma from the dugout to go for a change in the ball. The new IPL rule allows a new ball after the 10th over of the second innings to negate the effects of dew.
Immediately after the ball changed, wickets kept tumbling. “A crucial ploy by Rohit Sharma turned a loss into win. DC was running away with the game. Karun Nair was batting brillaintly. Nobody was able to stop him. He was playing like Pushpa, spreading like wildfire. In the 13th over, it seemed like DC would win. But just then Rohit asked the head coach, Mahela Jayawardene, to employ spinners and bring Karn Sharma into the attack. I think Mahela Jayawardene did not agree with Rohit Sharma. If they had gone with what Jayawardene had to say, the Mumbai Indians would have also lost this game. Rohit Sharma was there, he had the best move. He is the captain. He always thinks like a captain. A captain is always the captain, and his tactical acumen helped Mumbai win,” said Harbhajan on his YouTube channel.
“Karn Sharma came into the attack and took three wickets, turning the game’s tide. It was a gold move. This wouldn’t have happened when Tilak Varma retired against Lucknow and Mitchell Santner was sent in if Rohit Sharma had been in the dugout. Mahela Jayawardene made a bad move. Rohit was incredible against Delhi Capitals. Sometimes, the coaches must keep their egos aside and consider how the team can benefit. I hope Rohit Sharma keeps sharing his inputs from the dugout.”
Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma’s dreadful run in the Indian Premier League (IPL) continued with another mediocre outing on a placid strip against Delhi Capitals on an action-packed Sunday.
Rohit and Ryan Rickelton tried to exploit the benign conditions by adopting a belligerent approach against the table-toppers after being put to bat. Rohit showed signs of positivity by clobbering Mitchell Starc in the second over.
With two boundaries and a sole six, Rohit looked set for an extended stay on the crease. However, he lost the plot while trying to find the balance between aggression and caution.
The seasoned opener went for a sweep, missed the ball completely and was pinned in front of the stumps. With another failure to his name, Rohit returned to the dressing room with 18(12).
After another flop show, Rohit now has the second-lowest batting average as an opener since IPL 2023 among players who have at least played a minimum of 25 innings.
Since IPL 2023, Rohit has averaged just 24.39 with 805 runs to his name, the second-lowest by an opener. Only Wriddhiman Saha stands ahead of the explosive opener, averaging 20.28 with 507 runs under his belt. In the ongoing season, Rohit has mustered up just 56 runs at a meagre average of 11.20.
Topics mentioned in this article
