New Delhi, April 14 (NationPress) As IPL 2025 approaches, the recent decision allowing the team bowling second in evening matches to request a ball change after the eleventh over, aimed at mitigating the dew impact, has been hailed by many tournament insiders as beneficial for teams defending their totals.

During the match at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Sunday evening, this ball change rule introduced a pivotal turn in the Mumbai Indians' strategy to defend a score of 205/5 on a pitch that wasn't entirely favorable. Following Jasprit Bumrah's dismissal of Axar Patel, MI made the decision to change the ball. This was a tactical move, especially since super soppers were deployed during the innings break to combat the dew.

The change occurred right after Bumrah claimed Patel's wicket, leading to a significant shift in the match's dynamics. Karn Sharma, who was brought in as the impact player for MI, along with Mitchell Santner, was able to gain better control with the new ball, which crucially provided extra bounce, turn, and grip.

This development transformed the approach of batters who had been relying on cross-bat shots and lofts, commonly played due to the 60m and 66m square boundaries, making them high-risk plays. This strategy benefitted MI as Karn secured a wicket by having Tristan Stubbs caught at long-off, followed by KL Rahul edging a sweeping shot to his own dismissal.

As Karn led MI's resurgence with the new ball, DC found themselves in a precarious situation, needing 46 runs off 27 balls with only four wickets remaining. This tension escalated when Trent Boult bowled an impressive 17th over, conceding just three runs.

Traditionally, MI would have relied on Hardik Pandya to bowl the 18th and 20th overs while assigning Bumrah the penultimate over. However, MI surprised everyone by having Santner bowl the 18th over, raising eyebrows when Vipraj Nigam hit him for a six and a four right off the bat, putting DC in a position to snatch victory similar to their earlier match against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in Visakhapatnam.

However, this was all part of Santner's strategy. The boundaries were hit off deliveries exceeding 90kmph. Sensing Nigam advance down the pitch on the fifth ball, Santner slowed the delivery significantly from around the wicket and pushed it wide outside the off-stump.

Nigam was caught off guard by Santner's slowest delivery of the match and was easily stumped by Ryan Rickleton. Following that, despite Ashutosh hitting Bumrah for two fours, MI executed three run-outs to clinch victory in the penultimate over, including a direct hit by Santner from short mid-wicket.

“You could say that the ball change was a game-changing moment. The ball was wet on one side and dry on the other. We needed wickets since they were scoring at 10-11 runs per over. My role, along with Mitchell Santner, was to take wickets. A new seam provides grip from the pitch, which was advantageous,” explained Karn, the Player of the Match, who took 3-36, during the post-match press conference.

Before the ball change, MI's spin duo of Karn and Santner had taken two wickets for 44 runs at an economy rate of 11. After the change, they captured three wickets for 31 runs at an economy rate of 7.75. Overall, their combined figures were commendable, 5-75 with an economy rate of 9.37.

For Karn, contributing significantly to MI's victory brought back memories of his 13 wickets during the franchise's title-winning season in 2017. After playing for Chennai Super Kings (CSK), where he won two titles, and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), he had not made a similar impact.

However, on Sunday, in his first match for MI at a venue he knows well, Karn played a vital role in turning the game and securing the win.

“It's a special moment. I returned after 6-7 years. I wanted to pick up where I left off in 2017. The IPL is unpredictable; you can't assume you'll be in the playing XI,” he remarked.

“You must trust yourself that when you get the chance, you must perform. Ultimately, the team's victory matters more as those two points are crucial. In our last two games, we lost narrowly. In this match, we believed it would be easy to win. Every morning, I remind myself that it's a new day, with new opportunities ahead,” he added.

The Mumbai Indians' victory over the Delhi Capitals marked just their second win in six matches. As the home crowd fell silent, MI's enthusiastic celebrations took the spotlight.

As a significant phase of the IPL 2025 season approaches, MI's triumph in Delhi, along with the pivotal ball change, could serve as the turning point for a campaign that initially seemed challenging.