Karun Nair comes out of syllabus as powerplay blitz rattles Mumbai Indians: 'Reading Bumrah like textbook'

Delhi Capitals batter Karun Nair showed the world what he is made of as he took down Jasprit Bumrah against Mumbai Indians in an Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 fixture at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on Sunday. Chasing 206, Delhi Capitals lost opening batter Jake Fraser-McGurk on the first ball of the innings, and this led to Karun Nair coming in the middle at No.3 as an impact sub.

In his first match of the IPL 2025 season, Karun Nair showed no jitters as he came out of the syllabus for the acclaimed Mumbai Indians bowling lineup, comprising Deepak Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult.

Karun Nair brought out a wide array of shots, smashing the bowlers around the park. Inside the powerplay, the right-hander faced nine deliveries bowled by Bumrah, scoring 26 runs.

Eventually, Karun Nair brought up his half-century off just 22 balls in the sixth over of the innings. He raised his bat to acknowledge the applause from the Delhi Capitals' dugout and the home fans in New Delhi.

When Karun Nair took down Bumrah inside the powerplay, commentator Harsha Bhogle said, “Karun Nair is reading Bumrah like a textbook.”

The veteran batter was also at his best against Deepak Chahar and Trent Boult, giving Delhi Capitals the advantage inside the powerplay. Karun Nair's onslaught helped Delhi Capitals post 72/1 inside the powerplay, staying well ahead of the asking run rate.

Karun Nair eventually returned to the hut after scoring 89 runs off 40 balls with the help of 12 fours and 5 sixes. Mitchell Santner produced probably the ball of the game to rattle the stumps of the right-handed batter.

This was Karun Nair's first IPL game in 1,077 days. The 33-year-old last played for Rajasthan Royals against Kolkata Knight Riders during the 2022 season. Against Mumbai Indians, Karun Nair registered his highest IPL score, beating his previous best of 83 runs against SunRisers Hyderabad in 2016.

Karun Nair arrived in the IPL on the back of some solid form in domestic cricket. In the Vijay Hazare Trophy, the right-hander scored 779 runs for Vidarbha in nine games at a staggering average of 389.50.

Mumbai Indians post 205/5 in 20 overs

Earlier, Delhi Capitals captain Axar Patel won the toss, and the hosts opted to bowl first.

Tilak Varma played a knock of 59 runs off 33 balls with the help of 6 fours and 3 sixes as Mumbai Indians posted 205/5 in the allotted twenty overs. Ryan Rickelton and Suryakumar Yadav also chipped in with knocks of 41 and 40, respectively.

In the death overs, Naman Dhir smashed 38 runs off 17 balls to take Mumbai Indians' total past the 200-run mark.

For Delhi Capitals, Kuldeep Yadav and Vipraj Nigam returned with two wickets each.