Images from the IPL 2025 match between Gujarat Titans and Mumbai Indians at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Saturday.
A game-changing spell from pacer Prasidh Krishna (2/18) complemented Sai Sudharsan's sparkling half-century as Gujarat Titans secured a commanding 36-run win over Mumbai Indians in the IPL 2025 match in Ahmedabad on Saturday.
Sudharsan showcased his growing stature with a fluent 63 off 41 balls (4x4, 2x6), and his 78-run partnership with skipper Shubman Gill (38) led Gujarat to 196/8 after Mumbai opted to bowl.
In reply, Tilak Varma (39 from 36 balls) and Suryakumar Yadav (48 from 28 balls) stitched a promising 62-run stand off 42 balls for the third wicket before MI stumbled in the middle overs to finish on 160/6.
Prasidh's late introduction was the turning point of the match.
Introduced in the 12th over, Prasidh, who bowled 14 dot balls, immediately made an impact, removing Tilak Varma (32) with a well-disguised slower ball that was mistimed straight to Rahul Tewatia in the deep.
MI then lost three more wickets, including that of Suryakumar and skipper Hardik Pandya (11) as Titans took firm control of the contest.
This was the first win of the season for the 2022 champions GT, keeping their impeccable home record intact.
Five-time champions MI suffered back-to-back defeats following their reversal at Chennai and they now head home to face Kolkata Knight Riders.
MI's chase did not get off to a bright start, losing two wickets in the Power Play. Rohit Sharma (8) and Ryan Rickelton (6) fell cheaply to Mohammed Siraj.
After hitting successive boundaries, Rohit (8) was undone by a peach -- a back-of-a-length delivery that seamed in sharply to dislodge his stumps.
Rickelton, struggling to find his rhythm, dragged Siraj (2/34) onto his stumps to be dismissed for six.
Suryakumar counterattacked, stepping across his stumps to whip Siraj over deep backward square leg for a six. He then disrupted Ishant Sharma's rhythm with a flick over fine leg and launched R Sai Kishore for two massive sixes.
Tilak played a breezy knock, targeting Kagiso Rabada with three boundaries in succession.
With 89 runs needed off seven overs, Pandya joined Suryakumar in the middle. But Prasidh's next over was a tight four-run effort, during which he delivered a fiery short ball that struck Suryakumar on the helmet while attempting a hook.
Suryakumar, on 45, was flat on his back, requiring immediate attention from the physio. Prasidh's figures then read a remarkable 2-0-6-1.
In his next over, Prasidh struck gold, dismissing Suryakumar with a deceptive cross-seam delivery as MI's hopes faded further.
With 79 required off the last five overs, pressure mounted, and MI crumbled further with Rabada consuming Pandya with a slower delivery.
Earlier, Sai Sudharsan showcased his growing stature with a composed 63, but a Hardik Pandya-inspired Mumbai Indians fought back brilliantly in the backend to limit Gujarat Titans to 196/8.
The Tamil Nadu southpaw played with supple wrists and exquisite placement to stroke a wonderful 41-ball 63, which included four fours and two sixes.
Just as GT looked set for a 200-plus total, Pandya checked the momentum in the middle overs, finishing with an impressive 2/29, his impact extending beyond the wickets as he also ran out Rahul Tewatia (9).
Sai's dismissal in the 18th over, trapped lbw by Trent Boult's searing yorker, triggered a mini-collapse as GT lost three wickets in three balls across two overs.
The big-hitting Sherfane Rutherford (18 from 11 balls) fell in the penultimate over, and MI ensured the total remained within reach.
On a black-soil Motera pitch with variable bounce, 190 appears par for the course.
Sudharsan started his innings with two gorgeous boundaries off Boult in the second over.
He later took on Mujeeb Ur Rahman, welcoming the spinner with a drag-down boundary before launching him for a six straight over the bowler's head.
Adjusting smartly to wickets falling at the other end, Sudharsan curbed his boundary shots but kept the run rate steady at nine per over.
He brought up his eighth IPL fifty off 33 balls, highlighted by a superb 84-metre six over deep mid-wicket.
Skipper Shubman Gill (38 off 27 balls) also looked fluent, playing mostly in front of the wicket.
The openers in a 78-run alliance capitalised on the new ball, with spin introduced in the fifth over.
Sudharsan stepped up against Mujeeb, while Gill punished the Afghan off-spinner for straying on the leg side, smashing him through fine leg.
The over yielded 15 runs, and GT surged to 46/0 after five overs. The last over of the Powerplay was even more punishing as Gill stepped out to Deepak Chahar to smash him for a six and ended with a short-arm jab for four, helping GT race to 66/0.
But Hardik's clever variations built pressure, culminating in Gill's dismissal, caught at deep backward square leg while attempting a pull shot as Mumbai tightened the screws drying up the boundaries for 13 balls.
No 3 Jos Buttler tried to break the shackles with a counterattack. He targeted Santner with a six and a cheeky lap past the keeper.
Buttler's quickfire 39 from 24 balls in a 51-run stand briefly lifted GT, but Mujeeb removed him against the run of play - his carrom ball inducing an edge.
Shahrukh Khan briefly provided fireworks, smashing Pandya for a six over deep square leg.
But Pandya struck back, setting him up with a slower short delivery and Tilak Varma took a straightforward catch at a rather unconventional deep extra-cover.
MI's fielding was rusty with overthrows and missed run-outs, but Hardik's tactical brilliance, despite Jasprit Bumrah's continued absence, kept GT in check.
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