Rohit Sharma is regarded as one of the sharpest cricketing minds going around, and this fact was once again on show in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 match between the Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals. Putting all his experience to work, the Hitman “foxed” KL Rahul and Kuldeep Yadav into taking a review, and as soon as the duo went to the third umpire, he started laughing, as he was well aware of how the franchise had truly fallen into his trap.
The incident happened on the fifth delivery of the ninth over, bowled by Kuldeep. There was a loud appeal for caught behind after the ball went past Rohit's bat as he attempted a sweep shot. After the appeal, Rohit seemed to have walked back before coming back to the middle, and this further strengthened the case for Kuldeep, Rahul and Delhi skipper Axar Patel to refer the decision to the third umpire. As soon as the review was taken, the cameras panned to the 38-year-old, who was seen laughing.
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Once the replays popped up, it was clear that the ball was nowhere close to Rohit's bat, and it deflected off the bat. Rohit survived, and the former Mumbai Indians captain had the last laugh as Delhi burnt one review.
{{/usCountry}}Once the replays popped up, it was clear that the ball was nowhere close to Rohit's bat, and it deflected off the bat. Rohit survived, and the former Mumbai Indians captain had the last laugh as Delhi burnt one review.
{{/usCountry}}This game awareness even impressed former India head coach Ravi Shastri, who was on air at that time, calling the Hitman's tactics “brilliant.”
“How good was Rohit Sharma there. He has foxed them into taking a review by walking five yards towards the square leg. We have to see that again. That's brilliant from Rohit Sharma,” said Ravi Shastri on air.
Former Zimbabwe pacer Pommie Mbangwa was also in awe of Rohit's presence of mind. “Rohit's walking back, and he's halfway to the fence. The beauty was when he started laughing once they went upstairs. He's laughing because, ‘I got you and I made you take it. You are going to lose a review'."
At the mid-innings, Rohit was also asked about fooling both Kuldeep and Rahul, and explaining his rationale, the veteran said, “I know Kuldeep pretty well. He likes to take the DRS. So, yeah, I was just trying a little bit of luck there.”
“I was just trying to walk there. I know Kuldeep likes to take the DRS as soon as there is a 50-50 chance. So, I was trying my luck there. It turned out in our favour,” he added.
Rohit scores 35
The former Mumbai Indians captain scored 35 runs after the Mumbai Indians were asked to bat first. The team got off to a poor start after losing both Ryan Rickelton and Tilak Varma inside the powerplay. Mukesh Kumar removed both the Mumbai batters.
Rohit and stand-in captain Suryakumar Yadav then steadied the ship, but Rohit lost his wicket immediately after the strategic time-out. Eventually, the Mumbai Indians posted 162/6 in the allotted twenty overs. The five-time champions are without Hardik Pandya, the skipper, for the match against the Delhi Capitals due to illness.
Mumbai Indians made three changes to their playing XI from the previous match against the Kolkata Knight Riders, while the Capitals made no changes.