Mitchell Santner produced a moment of sheer magic on Sunday, April 13, at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, delivering a peach of a delivery to dismiss a rampaging Karun Nair during the IPL 2025 clash between Delhi Capitals and Mumbai Indians. After a long wait on the sidelines, Karun Nair finally got his chance in the Delhi Capitals XI, filling in for the injured Faf du Plessis.
The seasoned campaigner, who hadn’t featured in the IPL since 2022 and hadn’t scored a fifty since 2018, made his presence felt immediately. There were question marks around his form, but Nair responded in style, showing the class that once made him a triple-centurion in Test cricket.
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He was thrust into the limelight right away, opening the innings in a massive 206-run chase. When Jake Fraser-McGurk fell for a golden duck, the pressure mounted. But Nair rose to the occasion, shifting gears effortlessly and dominating the MI bowling attack. He brought up his half-century in just 22 balls—the fastest of his IPL career—and looked set to script a fairytale comeback hundred.
— Drizzyat12Kennyat8 (@45kennyat7PM) April 13, 2025
Nair’s aggressive strokeplay kept Delhi’s hopes alive as he toyed with Mumbai’s attack, even smashing Jasprit Bumrah for 18 runs in a single over—something no Indian batter had done before in the IPL. With every shot, his confidence grew, and so did the belief in the DC dugout.
But just as the crowd began to dream of a century, Mitchell Santner shattered those hopes with a ripper. In the 12th over, the Kiwi spinner bowled a delivery that pitched on a good length, angled in, and then turned away viciously after hitting the deck. Nair, pressing back, was completely beaten as the ball kissed the top of off-stump—a classic left-arm spinner’s dismissal.
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Karun Nair walked back to a standing ovation for his dazzling 89 off just 40 balls, laced with 12 boundaries and 5 sixes. Though it ended short of a century, the knock was a resounding statement—Karun Nair is well and truly back.
