Delhi Capitals pacer Mukesh Kumar has been fined 10% of his match fees following his team’s defeat to Mumbai Indians – a loss that ended DC’s playoff hopes in the IPL 2025 season.
The incident occurred during Wednesday’s match, where Mukesh was found guilty of a Level 1 offence under Article 2.2 of the IPL’s Code of Conduct. This clause covers “abuse of cricket equipment or clothing, ground equipment or fixtures and fittings during a match.” He accepted the sanction handed out by match referee Daniel Manohar without contest.
A Night to Forget for Mukesh
On the field, it wasn’t Mukesh’s best outing. Bowling his full quota of four overs, he ended with figures of 2 for 48, leaking boundaries at crucial moments. The real damage came in the 19th over, where Suryakumar Yadav and Naman Dhir hammered him for 27 runs – with the sequence reading: 6, 1, 4, 6, 6, 4. That over proved pivotal as Mumbai posted a match-winning 180.
Post-Match Fallout and DC’s Exit
Mukesh was later substituted out for impact player KL Rahul, but it made little difference. Delhi Capitals crumbled in their chase, bowled out for just 121 runs. Only uncapped talents Sameer Rizvi (39) and Vipraj Nigam (20) managed to cross the 20-run mark.
Mitchell Santner and Jasprit Bumrah were the stars with the ball, combining for 3 wickets and just 23 runs across 44 deliveries. Their spells suffocated DC’s chase and sealed a dominant win for MI.
Mukesh’s Season in Numbers
So far in IPL 2025, Mukesh Kumar has played in 11 out of DC’s 13 games, picking up 11 wickets at an average of 32.63 and a high economy of 10.11. While he’s shown sparks of talent, inconsistency and expensive spells have been a concern.
What Went Wrong for DC?
Former coach Tom Moody summed it up best:
“DC panicked when they started to lose,” he said.
The Capitals’ season was marred by poor starts, middle-order collapses, and underwhelming bowling at the death – all of which culminated in a record slump for the franchise.
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