On Wednesday, May 21, the Delhi Capitals (DC) lost to the Mumbai Indians (MI) by 59 runs at the Wankhede Stadium, resulting in their elimination from the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. MI became the fourth and last club to secure a postseason berth with the victory.
MI got off to a terrible start after being asked to bat first, losing Rohit Sharma in the third over. Will Jacks and Ryan Rickelton both had strong beginnings but were unable to turn them into significant hits. Suryakumar Yadav, however, started a bloodbath to give the home team the upper hand. He was still undefeated at 73 off 43 deliveries, and MI reached 180/5 thanks to a late burst from Naman Dhir (24* off 8).
In response, DC never appeared to be on track to meet the total. Mumbai easily defeated them, losing wickets at regular intervals. Despite lacking support at the other end, Sameer Rizvi was the Capitals’ top scorer with 39 off 35 balls. The two best bowlers, Mitchell Santner and Jasprit Bumrah, each took three wickets.
Although it was a one-sided game, a few milestones were achieved tonight. In light of this, we examine three of them.
1. Faf du Plessis Becomes Fourth-Oldest Captain in IPL Histor
In place of Axar Patel, who was unable to play due to a fever, DC vice-captain Faf du Plessis led the side against MI. Despite the South African’s lackluster excursion, du Plessis established a unique landmark.
He became the fourth-oldest cricketer to captain an IPL team at 40 years and 312 days. At 43 years and 317 days, Chennai Super Kings captain MS Dhoni is the oldest player to captain an IPL team. Shane Warne (41y 249d) and Adam Gilchrist (41y 185d) are next in line.
2. Kuldeep Yadav completes 100 wickets in IPL
DC spinner Kuldeep Yadav had a terrific bowling performance against MI, recording statistics of 1/22 from four overs. The left-arm spinner reached 100 IPL wickets by taking the vital wicket of Ryan Rickelton.
Kuldeep became the fourth-fastest spinner to finish with 100 IPL wickets in 97 games. The fastest spinners to reach 100 IPL wickets are Varun Chakaravarthy, Rashid Khan, and Amit Mishra; they each did it in just 83 games.
Yuzvendra Chahal of the Punjab Kings is in second place after reaching the milestone in 84 games, and Sunil Narine of the Kolkata Knight Riders is in third place after reaching the milestone in 86 games.
3. DC – first instance of a team not qualifying after winning their first four games
DC won its first four IPL 2025 games, getting off to a great start. They have only won two of the last nine games, though, as they have subsequently lost their momentum. They were consequently disqualified from the competition.
In the history of the IPL, this is the first time a team has lost after winning their opening four games.
