An awkward moment between Shubman Gill and Hardik Pandya during the IPL 2025 Eliminator left fans wondering if all is well between the two India stars. The viral incident unfolded at the toss when Hardik and Shubman didn't initiate a customary handshake, fuelling wild theories of ego wars. Later, when Gill was dismissed LBW in a tall chase for the Gujarat Titans (GT), Hardik celebrated animatedly as he ran close to the GT captain, further boosting the theories.

It must be noted that these are fan-made theories and lack concrete evidence that Hardik and Gill are not on good terms. The no-handshake incident could merely be a brain-fade moment for the two cricketers.

Mumbai Indians Beat Gujarat Titans

Meanwhile, Mumbai Indians picked up a convincing win over GT in the Eliminator to book a berth in Qualifier 2 against the Punjab Kings. It was a comprehensive effort from MI, who posted a solid score of 228-5 in 20 overs, courtesy of Rohit Sharma's 81. Jonny Bairstow (47), Suryakumar Yadav (33), Tilak Varma (25), and Hardik Pandya (22) also made critical contributions to put MI in the driver's seat at the halfway mark.

After losing Shubman Gill early, Sai Sudharsan (80) put up a great fight along with Washington Sundar (48), however, he couldn't get GT over the line. GT topped the points table for most part of the league and were firmly placed to feature in Qualifier 1, however, defeats in the last two games meant they slipped to third and had to play the Eliminator. Had they finished at the top, they would have got another shot in Qualifier 2. GT also made a few mistakes and dropped Rohit Sharma twice, which proved critical as Rohit made GT pay heavily.

"Brilliant game of cricket, we were right in it. Last three-four overs didn't go our way but still a good game. Definitely not easy when we drop 3 sitters. Wasn't easy for the bowlers to control and doesn't help when you drop 3 catches. Message was simple (for Sai and Washington). Just play the game you want to play and the goal was the same for both of them to make us win. Because of the dew, the wicket did become little easier for us. Definitely lot of positives for us. Last 2-3 games didn't go our way but credit to all the players, especially Sai - he was terrific for us this season. 210 would've been par for us on this pitch," said Shubman Gill at post-match presentation.

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