Five-time champions Mumbai Indians are back in the final as they thwarted Gujarat Titans' rather impressive IPL 2025 campaign in the Eliminator by handing them a 20-run defeat in

a high-scoring game - both teams combining for a staggering 436 runs - in Mullanpur on Friday.

MI, who struggled to find rhythm early in the season, are now back to doing what they are best known for: flexing their muscles in the knockout games. After former captain Rohit Sharma and Jonny Bairstow, playing his first match of the season, provided MI with a solid start - scoring 84 before Bairstow was dismissed by Sai Kishore in the 8th over - Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, and Hardik Pandya chipped in with valuable contributions to post a mammoth 228 for 5 at the end of 20 overs.

Chasing the target, Gujarat Titans were dealt a major blow as they lost their captain Shubman Gill in the very first over, with Trent Boult trapping the batter in front for lbw.

Even though Sai Sudharsan played a brave knock of 80 off 49 balls and Washington Sundar hit a 24-ball 48, GT fell short of the target by 20 due to the masterful death bowling by Jasprit Bumrah, Ashwini Kumar, and Richard Gleeson, who bowled the final over despite an injury.

Captain Pandya was all praise for the duo for their valuable contributions to the win. “The way Gleeson bowled. Jassi being Jassi. Ashwani... everyone chipped in well and we held our nerves. I would've liked a couple more (big hits). The little margins help. We wanted to push in batting and I think we were able to do that.”

Asked about his use of Bumrah, who uprooted the stumps of Washington and bowled at an economy rate of 6.80, Pandya said: “It's very simple. Whenever you think the game is going away, just bring him. When you have that, it's a luxury. It's like Mumbai housing prices – he's that expensive.”

The final few overs were tense, but Pandya remained calm and used his bowlers wisely. “I was just watching the scoreboard and I thought if we can keep extra runs at the end, I had the bowlers to bowl it. It was important that Jassi comes and bowls that over so that the margin becomes longer (the 18th over). Very important to recover well. Looking forward to the next game,” he said.

Mumbai Indians will now face Punjab Kings in the Qualifier 2 in Ahmedabad on June 1, with the hope of setting up the finale with Royal Challengers Bengaluru.

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