Who said what - top 5 expert reactions to MI's huge win vs DC in IPL 2025 ft. Varun Aaron 

Mumbai Indians (MI) registered a convincing 59-run win over the Delhi Capitals (DC) at the Wankhede Stadium on Wednesday, May 21, to confirm their qualification for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 playoffs. Hardik Pandya and co. outplayed the visitors across all three departments in their last home game of the season to move to 16 points in 13 matches, and remain in contention for a top two spot.

It was not all smooth sailing for MI initially on tacky surface after being put into bat first. The hosts were caged by the DC bowlers up until the 18th over, before a massive final flourish that included 48 runs, propelled the score to 180.

DC were never in the run chase after losing their openers inside the first half of the powerplay. Barring cameos from Vipraj Nigam and Sameer Rizvi, they did not have much to show for, and were bowled out for 121.

On that note, let us take a look at the top five expert reactions to MI's huge win vs DC in IPL 2025.

#1 Aakash Chopra

The former Indian opener was critical of how poor decision-making led to DC's poor showing against MI, and in the second half of the campaign. He opined that KL Rahul should have been the first-choice opening batter for the franchise, given his track record, and felt that they opted for the switch too late.

"Delhi won four consecutive games, and after that, I felt they fell prey to arrogance. Harry Brook wasn't there. So, at some stage, you take his replacement. Everyone took it, but you didn't. By the time they took Sediqullah Atal, it was too late, and you couldn't play him either," Chopra said on his YouTube channel.

"Between 2018 and 2025, 2023 is the only year when KL Rahul hasn't scored more than 500 runs. He is a 500 to 600-run bank, and you made him open only thrice. It's a pity. He made a hundred once, scored 77 and became the Player of the Match another time, and this was the third time you made him open," he added.

#2 Ajay Jadeja

The former India cricketer hailed Hardik Pandya's leadership and character, lauding him for turning things around. The skipper had thanked the Wankhede crowd for their support during the toss, being the last home game of the season, and the players did not disappoint, putting in an all-round performance.

“It’s lovely to see, for a man who has had such a tough time last year — with the same team, same ground, same fans — he has turned it around. The same fans at this ground were booing him last year; now they are cheering for him. That shows his character. You want to always have a leader like him — not just when you’re winning, but when you are losing as well." Jadeja said on Jio Hotstar (via India Today).

#3 Varun Aaron

The former India pacer praised Mitchell Santner for his spell of 3-11 off his four overs, and felt that he is shining in MI colors after years of warming the bench for CSK.

Aaron also questioned DC's decision to replace Axar Patel with Madhav Tiwari, and not use his all-round abilities. The DC skipper missed the contest due to illness, and the emerging young all-rounder was preferred instead of a pure bowler like T Natarajan or Mohit Sharma, or a batter like Karun Nair.

Madhav Tiwari did not bowl in the first innings, and scored three runs off four balls in the run chase.

"The moment Will Jacks bowled [in the first innings], I was thinking if Will Jacks is going to turn the ball this much, Santner is just going to run rigs around the batsman. Santner is a quality bowler, just one of those underutilised bowlers, underutilised players at CSK, never really got a long run, but he's just showing what he's worth the moment he stepped into Mumbai Indians' colours," Aaron said.

"100 percent (on whether DC could have replaced Axar better). I would understand if they bowled him a couple of overs, but they did not bowl him, not even a single over. Karun Nair would have been a great replacement, someone who can play a good innings on a tough wicket," he added.

#4 Tom Moody

The former IPL winning head coach remarked that DC made a crucial error by not reserving Mustafizur Rahman's last over until the very end. The Bangladesh left-arm pacer finished his quota in the 18th over, leaving Mukesh Kumar and Dushmantha Chameera to bowl the penultimate and the final over respectively.

"I think they forgot what was giving them advantage in the middle overs, and that was using the surface with cutters. The other point is not using Mustafizur in one of those last two overs. KL Rahul not opening is a puzzle to me, and also the inconsistency with the shuffling of their batting," Moody said on ESPN Cricinfo.

#5 Simon Doull

The former New Zealand international genuinely feels that MI could be the second team after SRH to win a title after not finishing in the top two. Mathematically, the five-time winners could still find a place in Qualifier 1, but Doull feels that even if they don't, they still have a great chance because of the team they have got.

"Dare I say it, could this be the year that even if Mumbai don't get any higher than fourth, a fourth-place team could win it? Because to me, they look like the most complete side in the tournament, at the moment. You've got the batting covered, bringing Bairstow in is not going to dampen anything, Rickelton has had an okay season," Doull said on Cricbuzz.