New Delhi: Karun Nair couldn’t have asked for a better comeback as he made a thumping return to the Indian Premier League (IPL) after three years, with a stunning knock of 89 runs for Delhi Capitals (DC) in their last outing against Mumbai Indians (MI). However, Nair failed to continue his purple patch in DC’s clash against the Rajasthan Royals (RR) at home on Wednesday, April 16.
Nair was sent packing on a duck against the Royals after getting run out in an unfortunate manner at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi. Asked to bat first in the game, DC got off to a fiery start courtesy of openers Abhishek Porel and Jake Fraser McGurk, who went all guns blazing from the word go. However, the hosts ended up losing quick wickets after the strong start to lose momentum.
Jofra Archer continued his fine form with the ball as he drew the first blood for RR by removing Fraser-McGurk cheaply on 9 to break the 34-run opening stand between him and Porel. Karun, who shone in the last game, was once again sent out to bat at no.3. There were high expectations from the senior batter, but he departed without managing to open his account.
The dismissal took place in the 4th over of DC’s innings when Sandeep Sharma bowled a length ball angling into Porel. The ball took an inside edge off Porel’s bat and headed towards point. Porel initially called for a single, and Nair was almost halfway down the track when he asked him to go back, leading to confusion. Hasaranga was quick to collect the ball and throw it back to Sandeep, who pulled off a great run-out on the non-striker’s end.
DUCK FOR KARUN NAIR…!!!
– What an excellent work by Sandeep, incredible 👌 pic.twitter.com/PU7sv9KBkP
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) April 16, 2025
Karun Nair’s sizzling return
Playing his first IPL match after three years against Mumbai Indians on Sunday, Nair sizzled with the bat for Delhi Capitals. He smashed a brilliant knock of 89 runs of 40 balls, laced with five sixes and 12 fours, nearly taking his team home in a tricky chase of 206 runs. Nair set the stage for a comfortable chase for DC, but the hosts suffered as many as three run-outs in the penultimate over to fall short in the chase, losing by 12 runs in the end.
Nair headed into the IPL 2025 after enjoying a stellar run in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25, where he piled on runs for fun. He finished as the highest run-getter in the tournament with a whopping 779 runs at a stunning average of 389.5 for Vidarbha, including five centuries. Nair would be hoping for a consistent run for DC in IPL 2025 and make the most of his opportunities as the season progresses.
After smashing a brilliant knock of 89 runs on his comeback for Delhi Capitals in IPL 2025, Karun Nair was dismissed on a duck in his side’s clash against Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2025 on Wednesday. IPL Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
