In the high-octane Eliminator clash of the IPL 2025, five-time champions Mumbai Indians (MI) posted a massive total of 228/5 against the 2022 IPL winners, Gujarat Titans (GT). Chasing 229 runs, GT skipper Shubman Gill fell early for one run against Trent Boult.
Then, their Sri Lankan wicketkeeper-batter Kusal Mendis walked in on his IPL debut. GT bought him as the replacement for Jos Buttler, who had to leave the tournament ahead of the playoffs due to his international commitments. Mendis was signed for ₹75 lakh.
HITWICKET IN THE ELIMINATOR. 🤯
– Kusal Mendis just lost his wicket due to hitting the stumps. 😱pic.twitter.com/hwfMEqRdYT
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) May 30, 2025
Kusal Mendis dropped both Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav behind the stumps
Initially, Mendis looked promising as he scored 20 runs off only 10 balls, which included one boundary and two maximums, at a brilliant strike rate of 200.0, which kept GT’s chase alive. However, his promising innings came to a bizarre end as Mendis was dismissed hit-wicket while attempting a pull shot off Mitchell Santner in the seventh over. While going deep in the crease, his back foot slid and dislodged the stumps, ending his innings in an unfortunate manner.
Mendis had already made a few blunders during fielding, where he dropped two crucial catches that could have completely changed the game for GT. First, he dropped the catch of Rohit Sharma when he was on 12 runs in the third over, bowled by Mohammed Siraj. Then, he dropped the catch of Suryakumar Yadav, who was on 26 runs at that time, in the 12th over bowled by Gerald Coetzee.
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