Delhi Capitals (DC) pacer Mukesh Kumar has been handed a 10 per cent match fee fine and one demerit point for breaching the Indian Premier League (IPL) Code of Conduct during the must-win clash against Mumbai Indians (MI) at Wankhede Stadium on May 21.
“Mukesh Kumar admitted to the Level 1 offence under Article 2.2 (Abuse of cricket equipment or clothing, ground equipment or fixtures and fittings during a Match) and accepted the Match Referee's sanction,” the IPL said in a release.
“For Level 1 breaches of the Code of Conduct, the Match Referee's decision is final and binding.”
Mukesh loses plot in slog overs
Mukesh was impressive with the new ball as he dismissed Will Jacks. Before the slog overs, he got the wicket of Tilak Varma as well. But, in the penultimate over he was him for three sixes and two fours. He conceded 27 runs in his final over. Instead of taking the pace off, he tried to pitch it up and Suryakumar Yadav, Naman Dhir were happy to cash in. After the fourth ball of his last over, he called for physio as well but continued. He conceded 48 runs from his quota of four overs.
Mukesh replaced left-arm pacer T Natarajan in the side. While he claimed two wickets, the momentum shift in the slog overs allowed MI to post an above par total of 180/5 on a challenging pitch where the ball turned square. In the absence of captain Axar Patel, DC were bowled out for 121 in the run chase and lost the match by 59 runs.
Mukesh fails to repay DC's faith
Mukesh has had a poor season. He has claimed 11 wickets from as many games at an average of 32.63. His economy rate is 10.11 runs per over. The DC team management continued to back Mukesh over Natarajan. They retained him for Rs 8 crore via Right to Match card in the IPL 2025 mega auction.
DC's last match of season
DC have been eliminated from the playoffs race with seven losses from 13 games. Mukesh may be seen in action again when DC go up against Shreyas Iyer's Punjab Kings (PBKS) at Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur on May 24. It is not clear whether Axar will be fit before the match. Stand-in captain Du Plessis revealed that Axar has been unwell since the last two days.