Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya said captaincy is sometimes about instincts and innovation rather than just adhering to stereotype roles, following his team’s seven-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL match in Hyderabad on Wednesday.

The all-rounder came up with yet another bold decision as he asked Deepak Chahar to bowl all his four overs in a single spell. Chahar returned excellent figures of 4-0-12-2 as he, along with New Zealand quick Trent Boult, reduced the Sunrisers to 13 for 4, from where the home side couldn’t recover and lost the contest in just 15.4 overs.

This was MI’s fourth consecutive victory and pushed the five-time IPL champions to third spot on the table with 10 points. Former MI skipper Rohit Sharma too played his part, smashing his second successive half-century this season.

“Realised that captaincy sometimes is about instincts. Want to see and react and not always pre-plan. In a situation like this where he (Chahar) bowled wonderfully in the powerplay, then why hold his fourth over back?” said Pandya, as Chahar went for the SRH jugular and made the biggest impact in the game.

“Good to have a win. Glad the boys are taking the momentum in the right way. I’ve felt, once everyone starts clicking in this team there will be domination. Deepak, Boult set it up; Rohit, SKY (Suryakumar Yadav) finished it. Overall, a wonderful win,” added the captain.

He, however, cautioned the team to not become complacent, saying a few more boxes still need to be ticked.

“Just need to get better in all departments. So far, very satisfied,” he added.

‘Player of the Match’ Boult, whose 4/26 took the wind out of SRH’s sails, also praised Chahar, saying the Indian quick did a great job.

“To keep a quality side down in their home conditions was the most satisfying. Deepak did a great job. I’d love to bowl four in a row and swing it around but it doesn’t always happen. You have to be ready to bowl in whatever stage you’re asked,” said the New Zealander.

SRH skipper Pat Cummins conceded that his team’s plans are not falling in place. SRH are currently in ninth place with just four points.

“After (losing) a couple of wickets, you have to find a way to steady the ship. Couldn’t do that. The difference between the first game where we got 280-plus and the next, where we folded, was big,” Cummins said.

“That’s T20, you don’t know what happens. Hasn’t worked out so far. We have a few away games now. It’s about assessing each wicket quickly. Some days it might be all-out attack and there’ll be graft on others.” 

Delhi Capitals slowly but surely inched closer towards play-off qualification, annihilating Lucknow Super Giants by eight wickets in an IPL match in Lucknow on Tuesday.

The win was powered by a near-perfect performance from their pace unit, aided by inexplicable tactics from rival captain Rishabh Pant.

The trio of Mukesh Kumar (4/33), Mitchell Starc (1/25) and Dushmantha Chameera (1/25 in 3 overs) used slower deliveries smartly as LSG could only manage a below-par 159/6 after being 87/1 at the halfway mark.

In the back-10, LSG could manage only 72 runs recording their lowest team total of the tournament so far.

It made matters only worse that Pant, with his bandaged right palm, came in at No. 7 and was dismissed for a two ball duck, while Abdul Samad wasted deliveries like a millionaire up the order.

The match as a contest was over at half-time only.

Young opener Abhishek Porel (51 off 36) set the tone before KL Rahul (57 not out off 42) and Axar Patel (34 not out off 20) saw DC home with 13 balls to spare, sealing their sixth win in eight games.

With Sanjiv Goenka in the stands, it couldn’t have been sweeter for Rahul, whose third fifty of the season, was a nice little statement with willow, having endured the LSG owner’s public wrath during a game last season.

Pant’s bowling changes were unimaginative and persisted with Ravi Bishnoi, who has become a one-trick pony with only googly as his wicket-taking delivery isn’t helping his cause either.

A couple of more wins in the next six games will take DC to 16 points, considered magic figure for play-off qualifications.

The wicket didn’t have any demons but LSG, in terms of strategy, execution and intent, had their worst game of the season and skipper Pant, the record Rs 27-crore, recruit didn’t seem to be there.

There were misfields, sitters being dropped with LSG and its skipper cutting a sorry picture.

At the toss, he said his injury isn’t really serious but sending Samad and Ayush Badoni before himself left everyone perplexed whether he is playing at a fitness level below 100 percent.

Despite the palm injury, he also kept wickets.

The ball was coming nicely onto the bat during the first 10 overs and the bounce was even as Aiden Markram (52 off 33 balls) attacked well and Mitchell Marsh (45 off 36 balls) for once played second fiddle, allowing the South African to dominate.

Sensing the nature of the track, the DC bowlers changed their tactic effortlessly and started taking pace off the deliveries while altering the length.

Chameera got Markram with a fuller delivery, which he tried to slash but found the only fielder stationed at deep cover.

But it was Starc, who dealt a telling blow when he got the dangerous-looking Nicholas Pooran (9), who started with a couple of sweeps off Kuldeep Yadav.

Sensing that the West Indian would tonk the length balls bowled at anything above 135 clicks, Starc bowled a slow bouncer and forced him to rush into an ugly pull with both his feet off the ground. The result was an inside edge onto the stumps.

Samad (2 off 8 balls) and Marsh were out in quick succession as Mukesh Kumar varied the speed of his deliveries to get two wickets in a single over. He also got the prized wicket of Pant with the final ball of the LSG innings.

While Badoni played some cheeky strokes, LSG always looked like the team that would come second best in this encounter. Now DC have beaten LSG twice in this game.

Captain Shubman Gill’s elegant 90 off 55 balls on a challenging Eden Gardens pitch was complemented well by a disciplined bowling from Gujarat Titans as defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders succumbed to a 39-run loss in an IPL 2025 match in Kolkata on Monday.

Gill’s innings, adorned with 10 fours and three sixes, along with Sai Sudharsan’s 36-ball 52 — his fifth fifty in six matches which made him the first player this season to surpass 400 runs to reclaim the Orange Cap, laid the foundation for GT’s total of 198/3 after KKR opted to bowl on tacky track.

The total, which was well calculated and strategised by GT, proved more than enough as their bowlers led brilliantly by Rashid Khan and Prasidh Krishna’s identical figures of 2/25 restricted KKR to 159/8.

It was yet another low for the defending champions after their horror show of 95 all out while chasing 112 in the last match against Punjab Kings as their batting looked woefully out of depth and succumbed to their third defeat in four matches at home, and fifth overall from eight games.

For GT, this victory marked their sixth win in eight matches, consolidating their position at the top of the IPL standings with 12 points, two clear of Delhi Capitals.

KKR’s chase faltered early as Mohammed Siraj removed Rahmanullah Gurbaz for 1 in the opening over.

Sunil Narine’s brief 17-run cameo ended with his dismissal by Rashid, who found his mojo back after an indifferent start to the season.

The wily Afghan spinner, who had been under scrutiny for his recent performances, delivered a tight spell beautifully exploiting the conditions to return with 2/25 including the prized scalp of Andre Russell (21).

His control and variations on the slow Eden pitch signaled a return to form as he conceded just five runs in his two-over spell.

In-form seamer seamer Prasidh also showed his magic in the back-end as he dismissed Ramandeep Singh (1) and Moeen Ali (0) in successive balls as it was all but over for KKR at 119/7 in 16.3 overs.

KKR’s innings stagnated during the middle overs, with Rahane and Venkatesh Iyer struggling to accelerate against GT’s spinners in a phase where for 36 balls they failed to get a boundary.

Sai Kishore’s economical 1/19 in three overs further tightened the screws, leading to Rahane’s stumping for 50 off the bowling of Washington Sundar (1/36 in three overs) and Iyer’s departure for 14 from 19 balls.    

Requiring 108 runs from the final 45 balls, KKR’s hopes rested on Russell and Rinku Singh. However, the mounting required run rate proved insurmountable against GT’s disciplined attack.

Earlier, opting to bowl, KKR’s bowlers faced an early onslaught as Gill (90 off 55) and Sudharsan (53 off 38) forged a 114-run opening stand.

Sudharsan’s consistent form earned him the Orange Cap, becoming the first player this season to surpass 400 runs.

Despite the strong platform, GT’s innings slowed down in the final phase. They managed only 59 runs in the last five overs, with KKR bowlers executing their plans well at the death.

Jos Buttler, despite a promising start, was tied down and finished unbeaten on 41 off 23 balls without hitting a single six.

The Titans’ batting stuttered further as Rahul Tewatia, sent ahead of Sherfane Rutherford, was dismissed for a two-ball duck.

KKR’s spin trio — Moeen Ali, Varun Chakravarthy, and Sunil Narine — failed to make an impact as they conceded 96 runs from their combined 11 overs without picking a single wicket.

GT’s reluctance to take aerial risks — managing just five lofted shots in total — highlighted the effectiveness of KKR’s bowling in the second half of the innings.

Fielding, however, remains a concern for the home side. Vaibhav Arora dropped a straightforward chance running back from mid-off to dismiss Buttler when he was on 17.

Opting to bowl, KKR endured a wicketless powerplay as GT made a steady start, reaching 45 for no loss.

Harshit Rana’s fifth over, which went for 12 runs, was the only expensive one in that phase.

KKR tried four bowlers in the Powerplay, including spinners Moeen and Chakravarthy, but couldn’t find a breakthrough.

Gill and Sudharsan batted with maturity, rotating strike efficiently and picking boundaries without taking unnecessary risks.

They maintained a scoring rate close to nine an over and played just one aerial shot in the first 10 overs showing their controlled approach.

The pair brought up their fifties in quick succession. Gill reached his third fifty of the season off 34 balls, while Sudharsan notched his fifth half-century from six matches with a 33-ball effort.

The breakthrough came in the 13th over when Andre Russell dismissed Sudharsan (53) with a rising delivery that induced a top edge behind the stumps.

However, the wicket brought little relief for KKR as Buttler walked in and immediately went after the bowlers.

Fresh from a match-winning 97 not out in GT’s last outing, Buttler hit Russell for three consecutive boundaries, including a stylish cover drive after dancing down the track, displaying his rich form.