Delhi Capitals (DC) skipper Axar Patel has been slapped with a hefty fine of Rs 12 lakh after his team maintained a slow over-rate during their clash against Mumbai Indians (MI). The match, which was the 29th fixture of the IPL 2025, took place at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.

According to a report by ESPNcricinfo, this was DC’s first over-rate offence this season, which falls under Article 2.2 of the IPL’s Code of Conduct.

Run-Out Chaos, Missed Opportunities Sink Delhi

Despite an electrifying return to form by Karun Nair, who scored a powerful 89, Delhi’s batting unit crumbled in the final stretch.

Three chaotic run-outs in quick succession derailed what seemed like a steady chase of Mumbai’s 205-run target.

Jake Fraser-McGurk’s dry patch continued, falling for a golden duck in the first over. His mistimed shot landed straight into the hands of Will Jacks, giving Deepak Chahar an immediate breakthrough.

Only Abishek Porel showed some resistance with a gritty 33, while the rest of the batting lineup faltered under pressure.

Delhi could only reach 193 before being bowled out in the 19th over. The final nail came when Mohit Sharma was run out without scoring, sealing a narrow 12-run win for Mumbai.

Mumbai Bounce Back as DC’s Winning Run Ends

With this win, Mumbai broke Delhi’s four-match winning streak and climbed to the seventh spot on the table, holding two wins from six games. DC, despite the loss, remains in second place.

Mumbai’s innings was powered by a half-century from Tilak Varma and valuable knocks from Suryakumar Yadav and Naman Dhir, helping them post a challenging 205/5.

Axar Reflects on Delhi’s Collapse and Spinners’ Role

Following the defeat, Axar Patel shared his perspective on where things went wrong for the side.

“We had the game in the bag. Some soft dismissals and bad shots in the middle order. You can’t leave it to the batters in the lower order every time.”

The DC captain felt the team had done well in the first half of the game and were in a strong position during the chase.

“Don’t need to overthink, just one of those days. I was happy at the halfway stage. The ball was stopping initially, but it got better. And then, dew helped us further.”

He also praised his spinners, highlighting their versatility across different phases of the game.

“Out of our three spinners, two can bowl in powerplay and death as well. Kuldeep is bowling unbelievably well. Need to forget this game from a batting point of view.”

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