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GT’s stellar IPL 2025 campaign had been led by top-three batters in captain Shubman Gill, B Sai Sudharsan and Jos Buttler, which meant their middle order didn’t get much batting in the league matches.

Former Sunrisers Hyderabad head coach Tom Moody reckons Gujarat Titans’ (GT) needs a quality Indian middle-order batter to fill a void in their side which came to the fore after suffering a 20-run defeat to Mumbai Indians’ (MI) in the IPL 2025 Eliminator. GT’s stellar IPL 2025 campaign had been led by top-three batters in captain Shubman Gill, B Sai Sudharsan and Jos Buttler, which meant their middle order didn’t get much batting in the league matches. In the chase of 229 in New Chandigarh, after the fall of Washington Sundar and Sudharsan, GT’s middle order batters – Sherfane Rutherford, Rahul Tewatia and M Shahrukh Khan – couldn’t maintain the tempo in the face of a relentless MI bowling line-up, as the IPL 2022 winners eventually bowed out of the competition.

“I sort of bag Rutherford with Tewatia. I think they both have similar roles. Slightly different players – one is more of a six-hitter than the other. But between them they faced 26 balls today, and hit one six. That, to me, just tells it all.”

“They are batting right at the back end of the innings, where the currency is boundaries. It’s either fours or sixes, it’s not ones and twos. Currency is boundaries, and that’s what they train for. And that was their moment to at least add three to that one, and that may have been the difference.”

“With regards to their batting, I suppose Washington stepped up here for that particular role, but they are missing a quality Indian top-order/middle-order player that can fill that void. If they can find that, it will certainly make a big difference to the balance of their side,” said Moody on ESPNcricinfo.

Varun Aaron, the former India fast-bowler who was in the GT set-up when they won the IPL 2022 title in their debut season in the tournament, believes the side didn’t have a batter in the middle-order who could replicate what David Miller did for them in that edition of the competition.

“Tewatia has always been that guy who’s come in in the last two, max three, overs and played a blinder. At a very crunch time, yes, but he’s never been one of those guys… for example, David Miller was the guy, he was the Rutherford.”

“He would come in with six-seven overs to spare, build his innings nicely, and when he was set, he wasn’t missing a slot ball. There was no chance David Miller was going to miss a slot ball. He was that guy that year, and that’s why GT won that final.”

After Jasprit Bumrah’s figures of 1-27 played a key role in Mumbai Indians (MI) beating Gujarat Titans (GT) by 20 runs in the IPL 2025 Eliminator, former South Africa batter AB de Villiers said a game of cricket isn’t over until the fast-bowling spearhead completes his quota of overs, a line which he also said to his son. In MI’s defence of 228/5 in New Chandigarh on Friday evening, Bumrah’s economy rate was just 6.75 – with his pin-point leg-stump yorker flooring Washington Sundar, and ending his 84-run fourth-wicket stand with B Sai Sudharsan proving to be the turning point of the match.

From there, MI restricted GT to 208/6 and set up a meeting with Punjab Kings in Qualifier 2, to be held at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday. The winner of Qualifier 2 will meet Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the title clash in Ahmedabad on June 3.

“The players known for stepping up in knockouts faced their fears and delivered. No one gave GT a chance at the halfway mark, but MI held their nerve – especially Jasprit Bumrah, who just keeps delivering in the big moments.”

“Credit to Hardik for holding Bumrah back until the right time. Sai had been playing him well, so delaying his return was a smart move. Before Bumrah came back for his final two overs, I told my son, ‘This game isn’t over until he’s done bowling.’ Once again, he showed why he’s one of the best,” said de Villiers on JioHotstar.

He also felt Sudharsan, the tournament’s leading run-getter, falling to pacer Richard Gleeson in the 16th over became another turning point of the match. “A key turning point was Sai Sudharsan’s dismissal. He’d nailed that shot all season, but it didn’t come off when it mattered most. Everything seemed to go wrong for GT – dropped catches, hit wickets, chaotic moments – yet they still made it a contest,” concluded de Villiers.

A rampant Mumbai Indians will present a stern test of character for a rattled Punjab Kings in a virtual semifinal when the two teams face off in Qualifier 2 of the Indian Premier League in Ahmedabad

A rampant Mumbai Indians will present a stern test of character for a rattled Punjab Kings in a virtual semifinal when the two teams face off in Qualifier 2 of the Indian Premier League in Ahmedabad on Sunday. An eight-wicket hammering at the hands of Royal Challengers Bengaluru in a one-sided Qualifier 1 may have eroded some amount of confidence in Shreyas Iyer’s Punjab Kings, who are now in a do-or-die situation as they dream of winning a maiden IPL trophy.

On the other hand, Mumbai Indians took another stride towards a potential sixth title with a comprehensive victory, which knocked out title favourites Gujarat Titans in the Eliminator.

History tells Mumbai Indians know their way around these lanes of IPL knockouts better than either of the other two teams left in the competition and that certainly tilt the scales in favour of Hardik Pandya’s side.

But coach Mahela Jayawardene’s challenge would be to keep his troops organised which the former Sri Lankan captain has been able to do exceedingly well after taking over a side that finished at the bottom in the previous season.

For the the Iyer-Ricky Ponting pair, the task would be to ensure their players put behind the crushing defeat in their last game and channel their energies to fight the fires that have erupted particularly in the bowling line-up, where Arshdeep Singh is carrying extra pressure.

The absence of Marco Jansen and unavailability of IPL’s highest-ever wicket-taker in Yuzvendra Chahal was evident when PBKS scrambled to find options to apply pressure on a spicy wicket in Mullanpur against RCB.

Mumbai Indians pacer Jasprit Bumrah’s gesture towards head coach Mahela Jayawardene during the IPL 2025 Eliminator clash against Gujarat Titans has gone viral on social media.

Mumbai Indians pacer Jasprit Bumrah‘s gesture towards head coach Mahela Jayawardene during the IPL 2025 Eliminator clash against Gujarat Titans has gone viral on social media. Bumrah took the crucial wicket of Washington Sundar as MI registered a 20-run victory. Chasing 229, Sai Sudharsan kept GT in the hunt but was unable the clinch the game for his side. During the match, Jayawardene was seen passing some instructions to Bumrah along with batting coach Kieron Pollard. However, Bumrah gestured towards him to calm down and take it easy before doing the same gesture to captain Hardik Pandya.

Jatin Sapru who was on the Hindi broadcast at that time, said, “Bumrah is basically saying ‘I know my job well. I am here. You stay calm and just give me a chance.”

The mighty Mumbai Indians handled the nerves better on the big stage to outlast Gujarat Titans by 20 runs in a high-scoring IPL Eliminator despite a classy effort from Sai Sudharsan on Friday.

Rohit Sharma (81 off 50) rode his luck to play a fine knock after Jonny Bairstow (47 off 22) made instant impact on his Mumbai Indians debut to push them to an imposing 228 five in 20 overs.

Titans, who were sloppy in the field and with the ball, were able to take the game down to the wire with sensational batting from Sudharsan (80 off 49) before falling short at 208 for six to exit the tournament.

Gujarat Titans crashed out of IPL 2025 after losing to Mumbai Indians by 20 runs in the Eliminator on Friday. Chasing a mammoth target of 229, Gujarat Titans were in the game thanks to a stunning knock from Sai Sudharsan but were unable to clinch the victory. It was a crushing defeat for the side and emotions got the better of some family members of the GT players and staff. Following the end of the match, head coach Ashish Nehra‘s son was seen crying in the stands. Even Shubman Gill‘s sister could not control her tears as she was consoled by the people setting beside her in the stands.

Gujarat Titans captain Shubman Gill pinpointed the three dropped opportunities that cost them their chance of restraining Mumbai Indians on 210, which would have been a par score following their defeat in the Eliminator in the 18th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Mumbai trounced Gujarat with a 20-run victory in a run-scoring fest in Mullanpur, a fixture where momentum swung like a pendulum. Still, signs of MI’s victory were written all over the wall after Sai Sudharsan’s dismissal.

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