An all-round effort from Gujarat Titans helped them overcome Mumbai Indians to secure two points in front of their fans at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium. Defending 196, Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna delivered outstanding performances with the ball, playing a crucial role in GT’s successful defence.
Siraj set the tone with an excellent spell in the Powerplay. Although he was hit for two consecutive fours at the start, his scrambled seam delivery cut Rohit Sharma in half, castling the MI opener. In the same spell, Siraj dismissed the other opener, Ryan Rickelton. Despite early setbacks, Tilak Varma came out all guns blazing, putting pressure back on the GT bowlers. A trademark six over fine leg got Suryakumar Yadav going. The 62-run partnership between Tilak and Surya reignited MI’s hopes. Both batters were cruising, but a couple of quiet overs forced Tilak to take a risky shot, leading to his dismissal by Prasidh.
R Sai Kishore had a tough night but still managed to get the wicket of Robin Minz. The onus then was on Suryakumar Yadav, along with Hardik Pandya, to take the team home, but Prasidh was simply too good on the night. Kagiso Rabada, who had leaked runs at the start, dismissed Pandya, dashing all hopes for MI.
Earlier, the Titans once again got off to a strong start, scoring 66 runs in the Powerplay with their openers, Sai Sudharsan and Shubman Gill, capitalizlsing on the field restrictions. The new ball was coming nicely onto the bat, and with Trent Boult and Deepak Chahar erring in their lines, Gill and Sudharsan cashed in on the scoring opportunities. Such was the quality of the batting that even good balls weren’t spared. However, GT lost their way in the middle after their captain got out.
Sudharsan continued nicely, but he needed a partner who could score briskly. Jos Buttler provided the momentum while he was at the crease. The Englishman looked in fine touch and seemed set for a big knock. Against the run of play, Mujeeb Ur Rahman dismissed Buttler. The pitch was slightly two-paced, with cutters gripping on the surface, but as long as Buttler and Sudharsan were at the crease, batting seemed comfortable. For the new batters, it wasn’t as easy.
Sudharsan reached his second consecutive fifty of the season. Shahrukh Khan was sent in to accelerate the run rate, but in the attempt, he got out, triggering GT’s collapse. From 140/2 in 15 overs, they ended with just 196. MI pulled things back with the ball, and once again, GT failed to get the final flourish.
In the end, that didn’t matter. Against GT’s 196/8, MI could only score 160/6, losing by 36 runs.