MI v GT, IPL 2025 – Rohit, Bairstow, Bumrah steer MI to Qualifier 2

Despite Sai Sudharsan’s valiant 49-ball 80, Gujarat Titans slipped to a heartbreaking 20-run defeat against Mumbai Indians in the Eliminator of the 2025 Indian Premier League. The mainstays of MI’s victory were Rohit Sharma (81 off 50 deliveries), Jonny Bairstow (47 off 22) and Jasprit Bumrah with the ball in hand. MI will play Punjab Kings in Qualifier 2 in Ahmedabad.

Despite MI ending up with 228 on the board, GT gave their fancied opponents a run for the money for long periods. The duo of Sudharsan and Washington Sundar shared an alliance of 84 in just over seven overs to more or less ensure that GT wouldn’t lose track of the required run-rate. The highlight of Sudharsan’s knock was how he picked the length quickly to crack a flurry of cuts, punches, pick-up shots and flicks while facing the likes of Hardik Pandya, Trent Boult and even Bumrah.

At the other end, Washington also showcased his pyrotechnics by smashing the experienced Boult for two sixes and a boundary in a single over. Just when it seemed as if MI’s players would be down to chewing their fingernails, Bumrah put a spanner in GT’s works by cleaning up Washington with a searing yorker. 

For that particular delivery, Washington had opened up his stance a little more. Bumrah, however, outsmarted him by nailing the yorker on leg-stump to rattle the timber. Richard Gleeson followed it up by castling Sudharsan to leave GT in further trouble. Even though Sherfane Rutherford landed some meaty blows, he had too much to do. 

Earlier, the duo of Rohit and Bairstow laid the foundation stone for MI’s massive total. The key match-up was always going to be Bairstow and Rohit versus the man in form, Prasidh Krishna. The Yorkshire cricketer clubbed Prasidh for three sixes and two boundaries in the fourth over. The way he went after Prasidh brought back memories from the 2022 IPL when he had taken another tall, hit-the-deck bowler, Josh Hazlewood, to the cleaners.

Even after Bairstow’s dismissal, Rohit, Suryakumar Yadav (20-ball 33) and Hardik Pandya (22 off 9) played with a sense of adventure to take the side past the 220-run mark. Rohit, who was dropped twice in his innings, showed the value of his experience by making an impact in a big game. For GT, Prasidh and R Sai Kishore took two wickets each. 

In the final analysis, Bumrah was perhaps the difference between the two sides. On a flat pitch, the ace pace bowler went for just 27 runs in four overs. 

Brief scores: MI 228/5 in 20 overs (Rohit Sharma 81, Jonny Bairstow 47; R Sai Kishore 2-42) beat GT 208/6 in 20 overs (Sai Sudharsan 80; Trent Boult 2-56, Jasprit Bumrah 1-27) by 20 runs.