New Delhi, April 4 (NationPress) Deepak Chahar, the pace bowler for Mumbai Indians (MI), acknowledged that the toss proved pivotal in their six-wicket defeat to Delhi Capitals (DC) during IPL 2026. He remarked that MI found themselves 10-15 runs short while batting on a slow black soil pitch that improved for batting under the lights at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi.

With Hardik Pandya sidelined due to illness, Suryakumar Yadav led MI and top-scored with 51 off 36 balls. However, apart from him, most of the MI players struggled to score runs, resulting in a total of 162/6. Chahar was able to exploit the pitch conditions during the power-play and dismissed KL Rahul, but Sameer Rizvi’s impressive 90 guided DC to victory with 11 balls remaining.

“The pitch was indeed slow, and the toss was critical. There was some moisture present initially, which made it challenging to start. The toss was crucial, and that’s why I believe we finished with 10-15 runs less,” Chahar stated during the post-match interview.

He elaborated on the changing conditions for batting in the second innings: “The pitch improved as the game progressed. When it’s dry, batting can be more challenging in the later stages. The moisture helped the conditions, and as the sun shone and the pitch received some rolling during the innings break, it became easier to bat on.”

On the absence of skipper Hardik Pandya, Chahar added, “He was unwell, which is why he couldn’t participate. We hope he will be fit for the next match against Rajasthan Royals in Guwahati on Tuesday.”

Chahar praised Rizvi’s performance for shifting the momentum of the game. “We fought hard, but defending 160 runs in an afternoon match is quite challenging. Rizvi played exceptionally well. If we had dismissed him early, around the ten-over mark, it would have made the match much more interesting.”

He further discussed the difficulties of defending a modest score. “In T20 cricket, wicket-taking deliveries are often high-risk. However, when defending 160, you cannot afford to bowl such aggressive deliveries.”

“As bowlers, we know that delivering dot balls increases pressure on the batsman. Despite our efforts, they consistently managed to score boundaries. It’s not that we bowled poorly; we executed our game plans effectively,” Chahar noted.

He emphasized that although MI followed their strategies, a few overs where they conceded significant runs proved detrimental. “We executed most of our plans well. We played some good shots, but with a score of 160, if the opposition has a couple of high-scoring overs, it propels them forward.”