Du Plessis: MI's counterpunch cost us in last two overs

Delhi Capitals' (DC) stand-in captain Faf du Plessis pointed out that they lost their momentum in the last two overs when Mumbai Indians (MI) were batting after bowling well for 17-18 overs, which eventually led to their 59-run defeat at the Wankhede Stadium. The loss saw DC knocked out of contention for the IPL 2025 playoffs, while MI booked the last spot.

Bowling first, it looked like DC would be chasing an under-par total with MI struggling at 132 for 5 after 18 overs. But Suryakumar Yadav and Naman Dhir hammered 48 runs off the last two overs to take MI to 180 and DC were bowled out for 121 in reply.

"I thought we were excellent today in the field. The guys showed great fight. Obviously, not the easiest pitch to bat on, so probably made the bowlers' job a little bit easier. But still, it's a very strong batting line-up (of MI), and I thought we were excellent," du Plessis said after the game. "And then [we] just let it slip there in the last two overs which... momentum is a real thing in cricket. So I thought the way that they counterpunched there to get almost 50 in the last two overs really [cost us]. All that hard work that we did for 17-18 overs, [we] lost that momentum."

DC were under pressure in a must-win situation as they were one point behind MI before this game, and had lost four of their last five matches before Wednesday. They further lost their regular captain Axar Patel to an illness for this match, someone who could have been useful on the Wanhede track, du Plessis said, where left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner finished with 4-0-11-3.

"I'm a big believer that you've got to make sure you take [momentum] and you never take it for granted," he said. "So when you're playing like that and you're performing well, then everything falls your way. And we could feel like the last couple of games, there was really a fight to try and get that momentum back and not doing the basics well in both departments.

"So it shows you that when you're on top of that wave, you've got to make sure you don't lose it as quickly."

DC were a depleted side against MI, without Axar and their star bowler Mitchell Starc, who didn't return to India once the IPL resumed after a brief suspension earlier this month. DC fielded as many as five uncapped players compared to MI's one.

"I think if you look at the two teams before today's fixture, it was a case of David and Goliath. So I enjoy that because it gives guys the opportunity to really play together as a team," he said. "So credit to them. [Sameer] Rizvi today showed some signs. He's got some talent there. But when you're playing against a powerful team like this, you need to be at your best all the time.

"And unfortunately, all 17-18 overs we were, and then the last two overs I thought we were pretty average. And then with the bat, you would need a good start on a surface like that, and we didn't get going at all with the bat. So it sums up pretty much our season. We've been cold in either batting or bowling the last six or seven games.

"And to be in the top four in the IPL, you can't afford to do that. So probably a fair reflection not to make that top four."

Compared to the five wickets taken by MI's spinners combined, DC's spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Vipraj Nigam managed just one between them, which made them miss Axar even more.

"Yeah, I think especially [missed] Axar on a wicket like that," du Plessis said. "If you look at the way that Mitch Santner bowled, they're very similar bowlers. To bowl four overs, I think [Santner] only went for ten runs. Axar is that kind of class bowler, international, proven left-arm spinner that on a wicket like that, he would love to bowl in it. But unfortunately, he was very, very sick the last two days.

"Starcy, yes, of course [we missed him]. Starc is a fantastic bowler. But I think especially the spinners on a wicket like this, it's worth gold."