Karun Nair found himself at the centre of an unfortunate mix-up during Delhi Capitals’ IPL 2025 clash against Rajasthan Royals on April 16 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. After playing a match-defining innings of 89 in the previous game, Karun’s night took a dramatic turn due to a costly miscommunication with his batting partner Abishek Porel, leading to his dismissal without scoring.
The incident occurred in the fourth over of Delhi’s innings, with Sandeep Sharma operating from around the wicket. He bowled a back-of-a-length delivery to Porel, who attempted a pull shot but mistimed it completely.
The ball took a thick inside edge, clipped Porel’s thigh pad, and rolled gently towards the point region. Reacting instinctively, Porel called for a quick single. Karun, trusting the call, sprinted down the pitch and had already crossed halfway when Porel suddenly backtracked and shouted for him to return.
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The confusion left Karun stranded mid-pitch. Sandeep Sharma, who was initially casual in approaching the ball, collected it cleanly and, with help from Wanindu Hasaranga, effected a precise throw to the non-striker’s end. Karun was caught well short of his ground. A promising innings was cut short without a run to his name—a harsh contrast to his heroics in the previous game, and a stark reminder of how one misstep can change everything in the IPL.
— crictalk (@crictalk7) April 16, 2025
Speaking at the toss, Delhi’s stand-in captain Axar Patel said the team was ready to set a target despite the possibility of dew. Reflecting on their recent loss, he acknowledged the team got too casual in the middle overs and stressed the importance of learning from those mistakes. Rajasthan Royals skipper Sanju Samson, on the other hand, opted to bowl first, citing that conditions generally favour the chasing side in the IPL, though he emphasised that performances matter more than past results.
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Rajasthan Royals (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson(w/c), Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, Nitish Rana, Wanindu Hasaranga, Jofra Archer, Maheesh Theekshana, Sandeep Sharma, Tushar Deshpande
Delhi Capitals (Playing XI): Jake Fraser-McGurk, Abishek Porel, Karun Nair, KL Rahul(w), Axar Patel(c), Tristan Stubbs, Ashutosh Sharma, Vipraj Nigam, Mitchell Starc, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohit Sharma
