Playoff-bound Mumbai Indians caught off guard by obscure IPL rule

Despite having secured a spot in the playoffs, Mumbai Indians paid the price for breaching a little-known rule during their IPL 2025 clash against Delhi Capitals on Wednesday.

The incident occurred during the third delivery of the fifth over, when Will Jacks was bowling to Vipraj Nigam. The on-field umpire signalled a no-ball after observing an irregularity in MI’s field setup, only three fielders were positioned on the off-side.

As per Section 28.4.1 of the official IPL Match Playing Conditions, a team must not have more than five fielders on the on-side at the moment of delivery. “At the instant of delivery, there may not be more than 5 fielders on the on side,” reads the playing conditions.

Meanwhile, Suryakumar Yadav`s unbeaten 73 and a late blitz by Naman Dhir powered Mumbai into playoffs with a 59-run hammering of Delhi. In a two-way battle with Delhi for one play-off spot, Mumbai posted 180-5 and then bowled out the opposition for 121 in their home at the Wankhede Stadium.

Mumbai`s New Zealand spinner Mitchell Santner returned figures of 3-11 from his four overs. Pace bowler Jasprit Bumrah also took three wickets. Five-time champions Mumbai have joined Gujarat Titans, Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Punjab Kings as the top four teams that will battle for the title in the playoffs starting May 29.

Delhi still have a match to go but can now only reach 15 points, while Mumbai have 16 points with one more game to play. Mumbai turned around their fortunes midway through the season after they started with four losses in their first five matches. They now count seven victories in their last eight outings. The final few games in the group phase will decide the play-off standings as the top two teams will have the advantage of having two shots at reaching the final on June 3.

Put into bat, Mumbai recovered from a top-order wobble, including home hero Rohit Sharma falling for five, to bounce back in the second half of the innings. India`s T20 skipper Suryakumar stood firm in his 43-ball knock laced with seven fours and four sixes, and Dhir boosted the total in his unbeaten eight-ball 24. Dhir hammered Mukesh Kumar for two fours and two sixes in a 27-run 19th over and Suryakumar then took on Sri Lankan quick Dushmantha Chameera to finish off with 21 runs in the 20th.

(With AFP inputs)

This article first appeared on Mid Day