IPL 2025 Eliminator: Mumbai Indians pip Gujarat Titans in nail-biting thriller to set up Qualifier 2 with Punjab Kings

GT vs MI, IPL 2025 Eliminator: Mumbai Indians beat Gujarat Titans to set up Qualifier 2 clash with Punjab Kings

IPL 2025 Eliminator: In the end, three dropped catches came back to haunt Gujarat Titans (GT) as they crashed to a 20-run defeat against five-time champions Mumbai Indians (MI) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 Eliminator at Mullanpur in Chandigarh on Friday.

The victory took MI through to Qualifier 2 in which they will meet Punjab Kings in Ahmedabad on Sunday. The winner of that match will play Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the final in Ahmedabad on Tuesday.

GT maybe the best batting team in the tournament but the 27 catches put down by them this season are the most by any team. They dropped five in their first five games, 22 in the next 10, including the three in the Eliminator.

Here are the five factors that enabled MI to win the tenth of their 12 matches in the IPL playoffs since 2015:

GT vs MI

Rohit Sharma rises to the occasion:

Big match player Rohit Sharma rose to the occasion when his team needed the most. The former MI captain became only the second player to cross 7000 IPL runs after Virat Kohli and got to that milestone with a six off Rashid Khan in the ninth over.

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Rohit got to his 47th IPL fifty off 28 balls and also became only the second player to hit 300 sixes in IPL after Chris Gayle (357). Rohit smashed 4 sixes and 9 fours in his 50-ball 81 before falling in the 17th over but he made GT pay for dropping him twice.

GT vs MI

Bairstow’s smashing debut:

England’s Jonny Bairstow, making his debut for MI this season, made the most of the opportunity by putting up a fiery 84-run stand with Rohit to set the platform of a daunting total.

Bairstow slammed 3 sixes and 4 fours in his 22-ball 47 matching Rohit shot for shot to get MI off to a flier.

Washington Sundar’s gutsy knock:

Washington Sundar played a breezy knock providing an ideal foil for Sai Sudharsan. Sundar kept GT in the hunt hitting 3 sixes and 5 fours in his 24-ball 48.

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Sundar put up a 84-run stand with Sudharsan before he was literally floored by a Bumrah yorker that went between his legs and castled his stumps.

Sai Sudharsan

Sai Sudharsan keeps the Orange Cap:

Sai Sudharsan is the leading run scorer of IPL 2025, followed by his captain Shubman Gill. Though Gill fell for 1, Sudharsan continued his blazing form by smashing 1 six and 10 fours in his 49-ball 80.

Sudharsan played all the shots in the book, all around the ground in a remarkable display of batting before he was clean bowled by Richard Gleeson while shuffling across for the scoop.

The last over of GT run chase:

24 runs were needed off the last over and Richard Gleeson was given the ball. But before bowling, Gleeson just stretched his right leg indicating some hamstring trouble and also had a word with the physio. But the England pacer continued with the proceedings and bowled excellent first three deliveries. Rahul Tewatia took a single off the first ball, Gleeson then bowled a dot ball with Shahrukh Khan on strike and then conceded 2 runs off the next delivery.

A struggling Gleeson then told the umpire that he can’t continue anymore and went off the field. Ashwani Kumar completed the over and dismissed Shahrukh off the very next delivery. Ashwani then bowled two dot balls to Rashid Khan to take Mumbai Indians through to Qualifier 2.