Karn: Karun Nair's wicket broke DC's momentum

Mumbai Indians (MI) legspinner Karn Sharma, who played a key role in his side's 12-run win on Sunday, feels that while there was no one turning point in the game, Karun Nair's wicket broke Delhi Capitals' (DC) momentum.

Batting first, MI set a stiff target of 206, but DC seemed to be cruising in their chase. They were 113 for 1 after ten overs, a returning Nair leading the charge with an explosive half-century.

Karn had gone for nine in his first over. But he got rid of Abishek Porel, Tristan Stubbs and KL Rahul in his next three overs to finish with 3 for 36. In between, Mitchell Santner bowled Nair for 89 with a near-unplayable delivery.

"At that time, the situation was like they were going 10-11 runs per over," Karn said after the game. "So my role was just to take wickets in the middle overs, and the way they were batting, every wicket was important.

"Obviously, KL Rahul is a big name and he had finished the game for them in the last match. But all the wickets were important for us at that time. After Karun got out, their momentum broke. And after that, we got two-three wickets quickly. That changed the game."

MI also benefitted from the new rule in the IPL. When dew set in during the second innings, they got the ball changed after the 13th over. It was with the changed ball that Karn dismissed Stubbs and Rahul.

"I have played a lot in Delhi, so I know how the ball will behave on this wicket," Karn said. "But we didn't expect dew because there was no dew in the first innings.

"When you get the ball replaced, the new ball has an upright seam, so it gives you purchase from the wicket. That helped us."

Karn, who was playing his first game of the season, had come in as Impact Player during the second innings. Left-arm seamer Ashwani Kumar was another option for MI but Piyush Chawla, former India legspinner, felt MI went with Karn after seeing DC spinners getting help from the pitch.

"They [MI] were waiting because they must be thinking whether to go with Ashwani or with Karn," Chawla said on ESPNcricinfo TimeOut. "But I am sure they must have made up their mind looking at the first innings, the way Kuldeep [Yadav] and Vipraj [Nigam] bowled."

"You have to give a lot of credit to Karn because it's not easy when you come to a team after six-seven [five] games and then all of a sudden you get a chance in this kind of situation where the other team is going berserk."