35th Match, IPL: Gujarat Titans 207 for 6 (Gill 56, David Miller 46, Abhinav Manohar 42, Chawla 2-34) beat Mumbai Indians 152 for 9 (Wadhera 40, Green 33, Noor 3-37, Rashid 2-27) by 55 runs

The hosts steamrolled Mumbai Indians for their second consecutive loss on a hot and humid evening in Ahmedabad thanks to fireworks batted by Gujarat Titans in the final overs and five wickets shared by Afghan spinners Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmad. Titans jumped to second place with 10 points, equal to Chennai Super Kings, the table-toppers, after defending the big score of 207 for 6 comfortably.

With Jofra Archer out with an illness, Arjun Tendulkar not bowling in that phase, and Mumbai’s quicks leaking 70 runs in the final four overs, after conceding 65 runs in the same phase against Punjab Kings in their previous game, Mumbai’s death bowling came back into the spotlight.

Mumbai’s batting power faltered against Afghanistan’s spin duo, as only one of their top six crossed 25 and they were reduced to 59 for 5 in the 11th over after Shubman Gill’s fifty and a boundary-laden partnership of 71 off just 35 balls between Abhinav Manohar and David Miller for the fifth wicket. Mumbai lost by 55 runs after being reduced to 59 for 5.

Gill lays the platform

Tendulkar kept it tight with his inswing from the beginning that had Wriddhiman Saha gotten down leg and alongside Jason Behrendorff, he held Titans to 33 for 1 after five overs. With a powerful pull, a scythe through off, and a stunning lofted straight drive for six, Gill then kicked off his assault by milking Cameron Green for 17 in the final powerplay over to push the run rate past eight.

Mumbai welcomed on Piyush Chawla right away and Hardik Pandya holed out to long-off promptly for 13. However, Gill’s pace was unaffected by that. He penetrated Chawla through the covers for four and crushed Kumar Kartikeya to the leg side next over to arrive at a 30-ball fifty and lead Titans to 84 for 2 at the midway imprint.

Kisi ka bhai kisi ki Jaan moment
Arjun Tendulkar bowling to shubman gill #GTvMI #TATAIPL2023 #mivsgt pic.twitter.com/TGKxnDBQ3C

— Somnath Chakraborty (@Somnath44333169) April 25, 2023

The take off from Abhinav Manohar and Miller (and Tewatia)

At 103 for 4 after 13 overs, the innings could have gone either way after Gill and Vijay Shankar holed out to long-on against the spinners.

Manohar bravely confronted a meek Chawla and swung the balance in favor of Titans to the point where Mumbai never recovered. Chawla started the 15th over with two full deliveries as the field was spread out, and Manohar blasted both to the cover boundary. Manohar charged down and smoked a straight six on the fifth ball, making it a 17-run over—the same number of runs Chawla had conceded in his previous three innings.

After that, Manohar and Miller could not be stopped. With the assistance of Rahul Tewatia, the pair struck three consecutive sixes in the final three overs, giving Mumbai’s bowling plenty to consider before their next match. In the 18th over, Manohar used brute force to slam Green for the first of those runs, and Miller used golf swings to end Meredith’s last over. Manohar also holed out to long-off for 42 off 21.

Miller’s dismissal for 46 off 22 on the penultimate ball was hardly a consolation for Mumbai because by that time Titans had crossed 200. Tewatia swept his first ball for six before slamming two more off Behrendorff’s slower ones in the last over on the leg side to finish on 20 off 5.

Shami’s masterclass

The WTC final is still a month and a half away, however Mohammed Shami was so exact with his speed and swing right off the bat that Mumbai and India chief Rohit Sharma could have something to grin about. Perhaps not. Shami terminated in an endless flow of fast conveyances outside Ishan Kishan’s off stump and made him seem to be a deer trapped in the headlights, which implied Mumbai never took off in the pursuit. Kishan jabbed, punched and goaded at numerous such Shami conveyances to score eight off his 13 balls and crept to 10 off 17 toward the finish of the powerplay.

From the opposite end, Hardik terminated in deliveries around 140-145 kmh with outswing and took Rohit’s return get off a main edge for only 2, preceding likewise beating Green’s swings numerous multiple times in the powerplay that saw Mumbai battling on 29 for 1.

The Rashid and Noor strangle

Following the powerplay, the Titans unleashed the Afghan spinners together, and Rashid struck immediately. After catching Kishan off a heave on the leg side, he ended his agonizing run of 13 off 21, and with the help of a review, he trapped Impact Player Tilak Varma for 2 with three balls. Green had at this point gathered two sixes and hammered a third off Noor in the 10th over despite the fact that the asking rate crossed 14.

Then, in the eleventh over, Noor dealt him a double blow by rattling Green’s stumps and also caught the big-hitting Tim David off a full toss for a two-ball duck. At 59 for 5 after 11, Mumbai barely had any possibility of returning quickly.

Mumbai will be thrilled to uncover Punjabi 22-year-old Nehal Wadhera, another young batter, with the exception of a cameo appearance by Suryakumar Yadav. Even though the chase was almost over when he batted, Wadhera manipulated the field to find gaps, hit big sixes down the ground and on the leg side, and impressed with his temperament under pressure. Wadhera scored 40 off 21 balls, including three sixes and as many fours, as he and Suryakumar defeated Noor for 15 runs in the 13th over, even as Mumbai struggled in another big chase.