The Arun Jaitley Stadium witnessed high drama on April 13, featuring a heated exchange of words between Delhi Capitals’ comeback hero Karun Nair and Mumbai Indians pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah—an episode that prompted yet another animated reaction from Rohit Sharma. While Nair’s blazing 89 in the DC vs MI clash saw him take on Bumrah with full flair, a mid-pitch collision between the two added fuel to the fire.
The tense moment unfolded on the final ball of the powerplay, as Nair completed a double to bring up his first IPL fifty in seven years but ended up colliding with Bumrah during the run. Though Nair was quick to apologise—both right after the bump and again during his half-century celebration—it wasn’t enough to calm Bumrah, who returned with some words for the DC batter during the Strategic Time-out that followed.
IPL 2025, DC vs MI: Highlights|Scorecard
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Nair was later seen explaining the accidental collision to MI captain Hardik Pandya. The incident even triggered a cheeky smirk and apparent taunt from Rohit Sharma, who was standing nearby and reacted with his trademark expression of amusement.
When it came to their in-match clash, Nair found the better of Bumrah on two occasions. Nair hit Bumrah for 11 runs in the 4th, and bested that by hitting 18 runs against the MI pace star in the final over of the powerplay – the most by any Indian batter in the IPL against the 31-year-old India star.
Karun Nair’s flairy IPL comeback
Nair’s blistering 89 off 40 balls, including a 22-ball half-century, marked a statement return to the IPL after several quiet seasons. The 33-year-old entered as an impact substitute for Jake Fraser-McGurk, who had fallen to Deepak Chahar on the very first ball of DC’s 206-run chase.
Taking his time to settle, Nair found his rhythm quickly and began dismantling the MI bowling attack with calculated aggression. From Bumrah to Pandya, and debutant Ashwani Kumar to Chahar, Nair spared no one in his attack. His knock looked destined for a century before MI spinner Mitchell Santner ended the dream innings in the 12th over.
Although Nair’s valiant effort ended up in vain after a middle-order collapse, and three back-to-back run-outs from Mumbai Indians ended up bundling the Delhi Capitals for 193 in their 206 chase.
