Mohit was acquired by Delhi Capitals in the IPL 2025 player auction.
The Delhi Capitals (DC) bowler Mohit Sharma recalls his thrilling final over to Chennai Super Kings (CSK) all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 final. The pacer was then representing Gujarat Titans, which just entered the cash-rich T20 league in 2022 and won the title in their first-ever season. They followed it up with another final appearance in the next edition.
Skipper Hardik Pandya (who is currently leading his former franchise Mumbai Indians) handed the ball to Mohit to defend 12 runs in the last over. The 36-year-old wanted to be clear with his plan before starting on his bowling run-up.
“I just told myself I needed to be clear with the plan at the top of my bowling mark before every ball. At the start of the over, when 13 were needed, I thought I could mix in one wide, slower delivery. The first ball was good [an off-stump yorker to Shivam Dube] and came back to me. The second ball he attempted a six, but was again a dot [single]. When you need [to defend] 12 or 13 runs and your first two balls are good, the game can come towards you, because it is not easy to hit a six straightaway in such a situation,” he said in an interview with ESPN Cricinfo.
The seamer explained how he restricted Shivam Dube and Jadeja from hitting those big shots against him in the first four deliveries of that over. However, Jadeja managed to hit a six in the fifth ball even after his well execution. He now regrets not giving himself enough time to plan that ball in that pressure situation. Mohit also revealed that he felt, “bowling at the heel was the best option” at that time.
“The third ball was a yorker, Jaddu got a single. The next ball was a single again. The fifth ball, while I executed it well, Jaddu played it really nicely. He did well to dig out the yorker and hit a straight six. Now, whenever I think about that over, I feel I should have taken a bit of time to think where I could pitch it, considering they needed ten runs off the final two deliveries because the pressure can shift instantly in such a situation. So while bowling wide was in my mind, in that moment I felt bowling at the heel was the best option,” he stated.
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The current DC bowler acknowledged the pressure to execute that final ball when CSK needed just four runs off it. He wanted to bowl that again on the heel but the execution failed and it went for a boundary. Chennai won the final by 5 wickets.
“When I got hit for the six [on the fifth ball], the pressure was on me. I needed to execute that last ball [with four required] very well. But the ball went a bit far away from the heel and the edge helped the ball move past fine leg for four,” added Mohit.
However, he emphasised the magnitude of that IPL final and took the learnings. He expressed his gratitude for a brilliant IPL 2023 season with 27 wickets in 14 matches. Mohit also bagged a five-wicket haul against MI in 2.2 overs, which is the second-fastest fifer in IPL history.
“But I wouldn’t say that that episode put me on the back foot. I had a fairy-tale season. I have nothing except gratitude. I have no regret. If this was a league game, no one would have asked me [anything]. But it was the final, a big game, and Gujarat were eyeing back-to-back [IPL titles],” he concluded.
Notably, the pacer was added to the DC squad for INR 2.2 crores. He has scalped only two wickets in five matches of the IPL 2025 so far. With four wins and one loss, they are currently in second position in the points table. The Axar Patel and Co. will take on the Rajasthan Royals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium tonight.
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