"I try to keep myself as cool and calm as possible in high-pressure situations" - Mukesh Kumar on his final-over heroics against SRH in IPL 2023

Delhi Capitals (DC) pacer Mukesh Kumar bowled a brilliant final over to help his side earn a seven-run win over the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Monday, April 24.

The impact player was handed the responsibility of defending 13 runs in the final over. Mukesh Kumar's task got more complicated as only four fielders were allowed in the deep instead of five due to an on-field penalty for slow over rate.

The pacer maintained his composure throughout the tense final over, did not concede a boundary and only ended up giving away five runs, which sealed DC's triumph.

Revealing that he bowled with four fielders on the deep during practice matches anticipating such a situation, Mukesh Kumar told Axar Patel during a post-match interaction:

"I try to keep myself as cool and calm as possible in high-pressure situations like the last over. The more my nerves are under control, the better my execution will be. In the practice match as well, I was bowling to you with four fielders outside the ring, so I knew that some time or the other such a situation might come up."

The Bengal pacer has been the leading Indian fast bowler for DC this season. He was roped in by the franchise during the 2023 mini-auction after spending the 2022 season as a net bowler for the team.

"I got selected for Team India and that name stuck" - Mukesh Kumar on being called 'Binod' by his teammates

Axar Patel began the interaction by addressing Mukesh Kumar as 'Binod', which has evolved to be a pop culture reference on the back of memes circulated in social media.

Recalling the incident behind the name, the pacer said:

"We were fooling around in the ground, me, Sarfaraz, and Umran and were saying like the meme, 'Dekh rahe ho, Binod. What are they doing to us'. Then I got selected for Team India and that name stuck."

The right-arm pacer earned his maiden call-up to Team India for the home ODI series against South Africa in October 2022. He has been a regular feature in the India 'A' team in the recent past as well.