DC’s Mukesh Kumar fined for breaching IPL Code of Conduct

NEW DELHI: Delhi Capitals (DC) pacer Mukesh Kumar was fined 10 per cent of his match fee following his team’s loss to Mumbai Indians (MI), which officially ended their playoff hopes in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, as per ESPNcricinfo.

Mukesh was found guilty of a Level 1 offence under Article 2.2 of the IPL Code of Conduct, which relates to abusing cricket gear, clothing or ground equipment during a match. He admitted to the charge and accepted the penalty given by match referee Daniel Manohar.

Massive moment in the game!

Axar Patel with a sharp catch & Delhi Capitals celebrate the big wicket of Nicholas Pooran

He goes back for an explosive 61(27)

Watch the match LIVE on @StarSportsIndia and @JioCinema #TATAIPL | #DCvLSG pic.twitter.com/cyhD19IYp8

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 14, 2024

It was a tough outing for Mukesh with the ball on Wednesday. He gave away 48 runs in his four overs, including five boundaries and three sixes. The most damaging was the 19th over of the innings, where he was hit for 27 runs by Suryakumar Yadav and Naman Dhir, helping Mumbai reach a strong total of 180. That over went for 6, 1, 4, 6, 6, and 4, and he finished his figures with 2/48.

Later in the game, Mukesh was substituted out as DC brought in KL Rahul as their impact player during the chase, but Delhi’s batting collapsed for just 121 runs. Only two uncapped players, Sameer Rizvi (39) and Vipraj Nigam (20), managed to cross the 20 or more run mark. Mumbai’s bowlers, especially Mitchell Santner and Jasprit Bumrah, were outstanding. The duo bowled a combined 44 deliveries and gave away just 23 runs while picking up three wickets between them.

So far this season, Mukesh has played in 11 of DC’s 13 games, picking up 11 wickets. However, he’s been expensive, averaging 32.63 runs with an economy rate of 10.11.

Following Mumbai’s win, the playoffs seats are confirmed with Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Gujarat Titans and Punjab Kings being the remaining three sides. The next group stage clashes will determine which spot these four sides will occupy in the standings before the playoffs. (ANI)