The clash between MI and DC finally began at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi. The Mumbai Indians were led by the T20 World Cup captain, Suryakumar Yadav, as the skipper, Hardik Pandya, was absent from the squad due to unknown reasons. The host team won the toss and decided to bowl at their opponents.

The bowling attack was led by Mukesh Kumar as he bowled the first over, but was hit for a four by the MI opener, Ryan Rickleton. The second over was bowled by Lungi Ngidi, who created pressure on both the batters, which led to Rickleton hitting Kumar for a big shot on a slower ball, which was caught by Axar Patel. Tilak Verma came at the third number to stabilise the innings but got out in the same over to a knuckle ball by Kumar, which was also caught by him. Finally, the skipper himself had to come to save the team and hit Mukesh for a four on the first ball.

MI, despite having one of the most supportive fan bases, couldn’t save itself from the criticism that comes with a poor performance in the power play. Tilak Verma was criticised for not playing a sensible innings and getting out quickly. However, Yadav and Sharma were appreciated by the fans for keeping the hopes alive.

Who the hell gives two wickets to Mukesh inside PP. Dimaag ke sath batting kro yaar. He's trying to outfox you with varying pace. Time to build a partnership.#MIvsDC #IPL2026

Low score for MI in the powerplay.

As of writing, Yadav and Sharma stabilised the innings for the team by making 41 runs for the loss of 2 wickets. This was a low score considering the fiery innings, Sharma and Rickleton had against the KKR bowlers where they dismantled the bowlers and made a 50+ score in the powerplay itself. Sharma and Yadav, played a crucial knock against the fiery bowling attack of the Delhi Capitals.