NEW DELHI: After Mumbai Indians posted a daunting total in a crucial knockout clash, Gujarat Titans would have banked on a solid start from openers Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan to lay the foundation for the massive chase. However, their hopes were dashed early as skipper Shubman Gill was dismissed in the very first over by MI’s strike bowler Trent Boult, delivering a significant early setback.Boult got the ball to swing in late and at pace. Pitching full on middle and leg, the delivery tempted Gill into a pre-determined hoick across the line. He missed it completely, and the ball crashed into his pads. The umpire raised his finger immediately. Hardik Pandya roared in celebration, as did Boult and the rest of the MI camp. Gill reviewed the decision, but the replays didn’t favor him, and he walked back disappointed.Following his dismissal, fans took to social media and started trolling the Gujarat Titans skipper. Earlier, Rohit Sharma capitalised on some early luck to craft a stroke-filled 81, while Jonny Bairstow made an immediate impact on his MI debut, propelling the five-time champions to a formidable 228/5 against a sloppy Gujarat Titans outfit in the IPL Eliminator.With a surface offering less grass than the one used for Qualifier 1, Mumbai chose to bat first — and their decision paid off. Gujarat Titans were listless in the field, dropping three crucial catches — two of Rohit (81 off 50) and one of Suryakumar Yadav (33 off 20) — and offered little control with the ball.
Rohit, the former captain, was dropped twice during the powerplay — first by Gerald Coetzee in the deep, and then by Kusal Mendis, who had a forgettable GT debut after fumbling a straightforward take behind the stumps off Mohammed Siraj.It was Bairstow (47 off 22) who set the tone, unleashing a flurry of boundaries to give Mumbai Indians the early momentum in the powerplay. The England batter, returning to the IPL after not featuring regularly in recent seasons, carried his county form into the game, having recently hit back-to-back fifties for Yorkshire.This marked the third straight match in which Gujarat Titans conceded a total in excess of 225 — a worrying trend for the 2022 champions.
