"If MI is playing, you should expect us to qualify": Naman Dhir confident of Mumbai's sixth IPL title

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], May 22 (ANI): Mumbai Indians (MI) all-rounder Naman Dhir expressed confidence in his team's chances of winning the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 after a crucial win against Delhi Capitals (DC).
"Yes, the team is very happy," Dhir said at the post-match press conference.
"I guess if MI is playing, you should expect us to qualify for the playoffs. So we are looking forward to the next four games, to win and to win this tournament," he was confident of winning MI's sixth IPL title.
Dhir played a key role in MI's 59-run victory, smashing an unbeaten 24 off just 8 deliveries at the death, which included two fours and two sixes, lifting Mumbai to a competitive 180/5 in their 20 overs.
With just one league game left against Punjab Kings (PBKS), Mumbai are now in the playoff mix. A finish in the top two would give them a huge advantage, allowing them to play in Qualifier 1. A win in that match would take them straight to the final.
Delhi's bowlers lost control in the final overs. Mukesh Kumar gave away 27 runs in the second-last over, and Dushmantha Chameera conceded 21 in the final over, helping Mumbai set a challenging target of 181. The pitch wasn't easy for batting, but Suryakumar Yadav made it look simple with an unbeaten 73 off 43 balls, which included seven boundaries and four maximums.
Mumbai Indians speedster Jasprit Bumrah and left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner's three-wicket haul bundled out the visitors Delhi Capitals for 121 runs as the hosts registered a 59-run victory at the Wankhede Stadium on Wednesday.
With this win, Mumbai Indians became the fourth and final team to qualify for the IPL 2025 playoffs. The other three teams for the knockouts are Gujarat Titans, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, and Punjab Kings.
In pursuit of 181 runs, the Delhi Capitals lost the first three wickets at just 27 runs. Faf du Plessis (6), KL Rahul (11), and Abhishek Porel (6) went back very cheaply.
After the fall of three wickets at the end of five overs, the Capitals were 43/3 with Vipraj Nigam (15*) and Sameer Rizvi (4*) unbeaten on the crease.
In the seventh over, the Du Plessis-led side completed the 50-run mark as Rizvi slammed a boundary on the bowling of right-arm seamer Jasprit Bumrah.
At the score of 55, Vipraj Nigam (20 runs off 11 balls) was dismissed in the eighth over by left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner.The fifth wicket of the Delhi innings fell in the 10th over at the score of 65 as Tristan Stubbs (2) was sent backIn the 14th over, the Delhi-based franchise crossed the 100-run mark for the team.
After completing 100 runs, inside eight runs, the Delhi franchise lost three wickets of Rizvi (39), Ashutosh Sharma (18), and Madhav Tiwari (3).
After the fall of eight wickets, the Delhi side were 108/8 in 15.3 overs. The duo of Dushmanth Chameera and Kuldeep Yadav put on 12 runs before the latter (7) was dismissed in the 18th over by leg-spinner Karn Sharma.
The Capitals were bundled out at 121 runs as Mustafizur Rehman was cleaned up by Jasprit Bumrah in the penultimate over (19th over) of the innings.
For the Hardik Pandya-led side, three wickets each were snapped by Jasprit Bumrah (3/12 in 3.2 overs) and Mitchell Santner (3/11 in 4 overs), and one wicket each was grabbed by Trent Boult (1/29 in 3 overs), Deepak Chahar (1/22 in 3 overs), Will Jacks (1/16 in 1 over), and Karn Sharma (1/31 in 3 overs) in their respective spells. (ANI)