IPL 2025 | 'That changed the game,' MI spinner Karn Sharma shares turning point during win vs DC

"After Karun got out, their momentum broke," that’s how Mumbai Indians (MI) spinner Karn Sharma described the moment things started to change in Mumbai’s way against Delhi Capitals on Sunday (April 13) in IPL 2025.

DC were chasing 206 and were in a strong position at 113/1 after 10 overs, and it looked like they had the game in hand. Karun Nair was in sublime touch scoring 89 of 40 balls, but once he was bowled by Mitchell Santner, MI started to find a way back.

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Karn, who was playing his first match of the season, came in as the Impact Player. He leaked runs in his first over but returned with three important wickets of Abishek Porel, Tristan Stubbs, and KL Rahul in his next three. He ended with 3/36 in four overs and played a pivotal role in slowing Delhi down.

Karn said, “At that time, the situation was like they were going 10-11 runs per over. So my role was just to take wickets in the middle overs, and the way they were batting, every wicket was important. Obviously, KL Rahul is a big name and he had finished the game for them in the last match. But all the wickets were important for us at that time. After Karun got out, their momentum broke. And after that, we got two-three wickets quickly. That changed the game.”

Mumbai also used the new ball change rule in the second innings due to dew. After the 13th over, they replaced the ball, which helped Karn take quick wickets.

He explained, “When you get the ball replaced, the new ball has an upright seam, so it gives you purchase from the wicket. That helped us.”

Piyush Chawla, former India legspinner, praised Karn’s performance. “You have to give a lot of credit to Karn because it's not easy when you come to a team after six-seven [five] games and then all of a sudden you get a chance in this kind of situation where the other team is going berserk.”

Karn Sharma's heroics helped MI win by 12 runs and eventually break DC's five-match winning streak.