Toss Proved Crucial as MI Falls Short Against DC: Deepak Chahar

New Delhi, April 5: The Mumbai Indians (MI) faced a 6-wicket defeat against the Delhi Capitals (DC) in the eighth match of the 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL). MI’s fast bowler Deepak Chahar acknowledged that the toss played a pivotal role in the outcome. According to Chahar, the team fell short by 10-15 runs on the slow, damp pitch at Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi, which later became more favorable for batting under lights.

With the ailing Hardik Pandya sidelined, Suryakumar Yadav captained MI against DC, scoring 51 runs off 36 balls. Rohit Sharma contributed 35 runs, but most of the other MI batsmen struggled to find their rhythm, leading to a total of just 162/6. Chahar himself found some assistance from the pitch during the powerplay and managed to dismiss KL Rahul. However, thanks to Samir Rizvi’s impressive 90 runs, DC chased down the target with 11 balls to spare.

In the post-match press conference, Chahar stated, “I think the pitch was really slow, and the toss was crucial. There was some moisture present. They started slowly, and you could feel the dampness. At that moment, the toss was very important, which is why we fell short by 10-15 runs.”

Chahar elaborated on how conditions improved for batting in the second innings. He explained, “The pitch got a bit better. When the pitch is dry, batting in the second innings becomes more challenging. When there is moisture, batting becomes easier in the second innings. I think there was some moisture, and when the sun came out and the pitch was rolled during the break, batting improved.”

Chahar credited Samir Rizvi’s innings for turning the match in DC’s favor. He remarked, “Yes, we tried our best because defending 160 runs in a day match is really tough. Rizvi played exceptionally well. If we had managed to dismiss him around the 10-over mark, the match would have been much more interesting.”

Discussing the challenges of defending a low score, the fast bowler noted, “In T20, wicket-taking deliveries are risky, but when you are defending 160 runs, you cannot afford to bowl those. As a bowler, you think that the more dot balls you bowl, the more pressure you put on the batsman. They were consistently hitting boundaries. It’s not that we bowled poorly; as bowlers, we felt we executed our plans well.”