Following a series of dominant performances in IPL 2025, Gujarat Titans (GT) faced a challenging match against Mumbai Indians (MI) at the Wankhede on Tuesday.
Up until this game, GT had been relying heavily on their top trio of batters – Shubman Gill, B Sai Sudharsan, and Jos Buttler – who were responsible for the majority (76%) of the team’s runs. Consistently, these three players had managed to extend their innings, often with strong collaborative efforts resulting in high scores. In fact, Buttler had successfully seen the team through four times.
Until Tuesday and a portion of Wednesday passed. All three have now achieved over 500 runs (with Gill and Buttler reaching this milestone in the current game) in IPL 2025 – an unprecedented occurrence for a single team in a season – yet, it was the first occasion in this IPL where none of them reached 50. It also marked the first time that all three were dismissed within 15 overs.
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Once more, GT’s bowlers had successfully limited the target for the batters to chase – initially 156, later brought down to 147 in 19 overs. However, this was a unique situation for GT’s middle order as they were forced to rely solely on their own abilities. With Gill being the third player dismissed, they were left with a manageable requirement of 43 runs in 31 balls. Although this may not have been an intimidating scenario for most middle orders, the consistent loss of wickets and changing weather conditions added to the challenge on a moist pitch that allowed the ball to move unpredictably. As a result, GT’s middle order struggled in a back-and-forth, low-scoring game.
It had been a while since Sherfane Rutherford stepped up to the bat, not having played since April 19. Similarly, Shahrukh Khan’s time at the crease had been limited, facing only 43 balls in the current season. Rahul Tewatia’s average of 9.33 from eight innings showcased his struggle with batting. Even Rashid Khan had only faced 11 deliveries so far. And Gerald Coetzee hadn’t batted for almost four months. Collectively, these players held positions six to eight on the team.
However, it was not entirely a negative situation. Earlier in the season, Rutherford had made impressive hits, and once he joined forces with a well-performing Gill in the 12th over, GT still had to face two overs from Jasprit Bumrah and one from Trent Boult. This meant that GT had to aggressively attack the remaining 30 overs of the 48 balls they needed to score 77 runs.
When Rutherford entered the game, Pandya outplayed GT’s strategy by bringing on offspinner Will Jacks to face the left-handed batsman. MI was already in the lead according to the DLS equation at that point. Jacks’ record this IPL season included five successful dismissals of left-handed batters, such as Nicholas Pooran, Rishabh Pant, and Travis Head. It was a risk worth taking, and it paid off for three deliveries as Rutherford struggled to make contact with the bat. The fourth delivery resulted in an edge that flew away for four runs. Rutherford responded with powerful inside-out swings that earned ten more runs from the following two balls.
The equation was a manageable 62 off 42 at this point. The Mumbai Indians must now reflect on their decision to have one of Bumrah’s last two overs bowled. This will be an important consideration in their post-game analysis, as they opted to give the ball to the inexperienced Ashwani Kumar instead. To their dismay, Rutherford hit a six off his short delivery, putting GT ahead of the par score just as the first rain delay began after the over ended.
During the 25-minute break, Bumrah appeared eager to get back on the field. Fidgeting with the ball and pacing around to stay warm, he wasted no time in returning to bowl as soon as play resumed.
Bumrah wasted no time as his swift delivery knocked over Gill’s stumps, while Boult followed up in the next over with a successful trap of Rutherford. The Mumbai crowd cheered on, leaving GT to hear the deafening noise. Despite being 38 runs short with 24 balls left, MI was determined to win. With Boult’s overs completed and Hardik taking charge, they aimed to take down GT’s middle order before it was too late.
Despite Shahrukh’s lack of interest in seeing Bumrah off quietly, he boldly took a chance and successfully hit a four off an over-pitched delivery outside off. However, Bumrah wasn’t about to let this go without a response. He swiftly threw a searing yorker at Shahrukh, catching him off guard. Then, Bumrah followed it up by knocking down the stumps on the next ball when Shahrukh missed his wild swing.
Ashwani returned on the 18th and delivered a yorker to dismiss Rashid lbw. GT once again fell behind the DLS par score, as Ashwani only allowed three runs off his five balls. Although it was raining, play continued as it wasn’t strong enough to halt the game. Coetzee then hit a four on the last ball of Ashwani’s over – unknowingly achieving two goals at once. This reduced some of the pressure by decreasing the required run rate and ensured Tewatia would be up next. However, before that could happen, there was another, longer rain delay with 24 runs needed off two overs.
It was a disappointing period for MI, with many players retiring to the dressing room. However, there seemed to be no obvious choice to bowl the last over as it became clear that there was not enough time for two overs. Only at the last minute did someone start warming up, and there was a lack of motivation compared to the passionate attitude displayed by GT players and coaches as the clock neared the cut-off time. Tewatia sat in the dugout with his pads on throughout, while head coach Ashish Nehra either constantly communicated with match officials or worked closely with Tewatia to prepare him for the final over.
When it came down to 15 runs needed from six balls, Hardik made a controversial decision to have Deepak Chahar, a specialist in powerplay overs, bowl instead of himself.
Tewatia displayed a calm confidence as he effortlessly hit the first delivery for four, while Coetzee’s intense determination launched the ball over the long-off boundary for six just two balls later. Despite Chahar’s overstepping on the following delivery and the close two-runs-needed-from-three-balls scenario, GT’s exhilarating victory against a skilled bowling attack demonstrated that their batting prowess extended beyond their top three players. They effectively handled the crucial moments of this highly suspenseful game that was full of unforeseen changes.
Their middle order’s night was far from perfect in their 11th game, but it could serve as a wake-up call before the playoffs.
