Suryakumar Yadav, bowlers guide Mumbai Indians to playoffs with big win over Delhi

Mumbai Indians (MI) delivered a clutch performance in a high-stakes encounter to secure a playoff spot in IPL 2025, defeating Delhi Capitals (DC) by a commanding 59 runs at the Wankhede. Here's how the match unfolded and where it was decisively won: 🔥 Death Overs Mayhem Suryakumar Yadav and Naman Dhir produced a stunning finish, smashing 48 off the final 12 balls. DC had controlled the game for 18 overs, but MI’s well-timed acceleration flipped the script, lifting them to 180/5—a total that proved more than enough on a sluggish pitch. 🧠 Tactical Bowling from MI MI bowlers, led by Mitchell Santner, who tore through DC’s middle order, and Jasprit Bumrah at the death, bowled with clarity and control. DC never recovered after losing wickets to spin in the middle overs, and their chase unraveled under pressure. ⚖️ Turning Point: Spin Battle Kuldeep Yadav and Vipraj Nigam bowled beautifully for DC to throttle MI early, but lacked the late support their counterparts had. MI’s approach of preserving wickets and targeting the death paid off. In contrast, DC collapsed in the middle, failing to execute a similar plan with the bat. 📉 Delhi’s Season in a Nutshell Started with 4 wins, but faded badly down the stretch. Their defeat today mirrored their recent struggles: inconsistency with the bat, lack of finishing firepower, and an inability to recover from middle-order setbacks. 🏏 Match Summary MI: 180/5 DC: 121 all out MI won by 59 runs Kuldeep Yadav and Nigam bowled in tandem to dry up the boundaries after the former saw the back of Rickelton in the seventh over. The South African found the deep square leg fielder with his slog sweep, giving Kuldeep his 100th IPL wicket. The spin duo kept Suryakumar and Tilak Varma in check. Nigam didn't add to his wickets column but was immaculate through the middle, conceding just 25 in his four overs. Only in the 14th over, the MI duo took the team total past the 100-run mark. Through this period, Suryakumar crossed 25 for the 13th consecutive IPL innings, but the pressure of the dimmed scoring rate got to his batting partner, who tried and failed to clear the long-on fence against Mukesh. DC entered the death overs needing 76 off 30 balls with only the lower-order to bat. It took Bumrah and Karn Sharma just 20 deliveries to bring down the curtains on the chase that had already meandered well off-course in the middle overs. In the end, DC folded for just 121, with Bumrah picking two of the last three wickets. Mumbai Indians 180/5 in 20 overs (Suryakumar Yadav 73*, Tilak Varma 27, Ryan Rickelton 25, Naman Dhir 24*; Mukesh Kumar 2-48, Kuldeep Yadav 1-22) beat Delhi Capitals 121 in 18.2 overs (Sameer Rizvi 39; Mitchell Santner 3/11, Jasprit Bumrah 3/12) by 59 runs