IPL 2025: Rohit masterclass leads MI to victory

Hindustan Times

4 days ago

Mullanpur: For the second time in the current IPL edition, Sai Sudharsan's second innings effort threatened to trump a first innings masterclass. But unlike what happened against Delhi Capitals on May 18 where Sudharsan's ton had overpowered KL Rahul's century, his 49-ball 80 (10x4, 1x6) in Mullanpur came up short against Rohit Sharma's 50-ball 81 (9X4, 4X6) as Mumbai Indians beat Gujarat Titans by 20 runs on Friday.
Chasing MI's 228/5 on a track that offered little to no sideways movement, Sudharsan brought his full range of delectable strokeplay, but in the end, MI's total proved to be too much. GT lost skipper Shubman Gill on the fourth ball of their chase but Sudharsan, currently the leading scorer of the league, stitched a 64-run alliance for the second wicket with Kusal Mendis off just 34 balls to put GT on course.
Mendis' dismissal in the seventh over meant Sudharsan was joined in the middle by his Tamil Nadu teammate Washington Sundar and the duo produced a vital 84-run partnership. Sundar played his part with an explosive 24-ball 48 (5X4, 3X6) but once Sudharsan fell in the 16th over to Richard Gleeson, the ask was a bit too much for Impact Player Sherfane Rutherford and Rahul Tewatia.
As well as Jasprit Bumrah bowled in the tense chase, the foundation of MI's win was laid by Rohit Sharma who made the most of some early reprieves to stroke a delightful 81 after Hardik Pandya called correctly at the toss.
After a sedate first over from Mohammed Siraj, Rohit top-edged a back of length Prasidh Krishna delivery to fine leg where Gerald Coetzee settled comfortably under the ball but shelled the catch. The momentum began to shift in the third over when Rohit nailed a textbook straight drive off Siraj before pulling him over midwicket for another boundary. Siraj then got Rohit, then on 12, to edge a wild slog but wicketkeeper Kusal Mendis fluffed the chance.
The next over swung the tide decisively in MI's favour as Jonny Bairstow tore into Prasidh. The England batter started the over with a powerful pull that sailed over square leg for a six. Next, Bairstow made room on the leg side and slapped Prasidh over the off side for a four.
A ball later, Bairstow's leading edge went over the vacant third man for another six and he followed it with a straight six as MI's fifty was raised in 3.5 overs. Bairstow was not done yet as he made room on the last ball and the under edge raced between keeper and short third for four. With 26 runs from that over, MI were well and truly off to a flier.
Gill, visibly flustered by Bairstow's assault and forced to change his field after almost every ball, introduced the left-arm spin of Sai Kishore in the sixth over and Rohit responded by sweeping him for a six and a couple of fours. It was an exhibition of pure placement as Rohit accessed the arc between midwicket and square leg at will, teasing the field with his deft touch.
The 79-run Powerplay was MI's best of the current edition of IPL. GT finally struck in the eighth over when Bairstow's reverse hit off Sai Kishore was parried to Coetzee at backward point by a diving Sai Sudharsan. The right-hander's 47 came off 22 balls and was studded with four fours and three towering sixes.
Suryakumar Yadav joined Rohit in the middle and the two played out a couple of quiet overs of Sai Kishore and Rashid Khan. The next two, however, produced 24 runs as MI innings picked the pace again. Surya was dropped by Mendis in the 12th over, bowled by Coetzee, but Sai Kishore had him caught off a top-edged sweep at fine leg.
Rohit, meanwhile, went about his merry ways, relying on his typically pleasing strokeplay to keep the MI innings moving. He reached his fifty in 28 balls and settled down nicely after his earlier misadventures. Particularly impressive against the leg-spin of Rashid Khan, Rohit first danced down the track and hit him inside-out for a six and after a few overs, swept the bowl on the same length for another six. Hardik Pandya's late flourish ensured MI raced to 228/5.
The result means five-time champion MI will face Punjab Kings in Qualifier 2 on Sunday and the winner will meet RCB in the final on June 3.