Can Anyone Stop Mumbai Indians?
Mumbai Indians have proven once again as why they are one of the most favorite teams in the IPL. Rising dramatically from the 10th spot in the standings they have now advanced to Qualifier 2 leaving fans and netizens stunned. With just two steps between them and the trophy: a match each against Punjab Kings and RCB. The question arises: Can anyone really stop them? Both Punjab Kings and RCB have never lifted the IPL trophy while Mumbai Indians made a record of five titles. That experience and legacy seem to be playing a key psychological role as the playoffs progress.
In the latest Eliminator match Mumbai Indians scored a massive total 228, congrats to Rohit Sharma’s contribution 81 off 50 balls and explosive contributions from Hardik Pandya, Tilak Varma, and Johnny Bairstow who scored 47 off 22 balls. The high total laid the foundation for victory. Apart from this the history shows Mumbai always wins eliminator round when bats first.
The match against Gujarat Titans was a nail biter. Gujarat despite being the first team to qualify for the playoffs and lost momentum at the bad time. And faced three back to back defeats in tournament. Sai Sudharsan and Washington Sundar chased 151 runs in 13.4 overs and Gujarat looked for a historic win. But key moments changed the contest.
The turning points between MI & GT:
- Shubman Gill’s dismissal
- Kusal Mendis’s run-out
- And Bumrah’s game changing 14th over giving away just four runs and taking a crucial wicket
Death Over Domination: Bumrah Chokes Gujarat’s Chase
Bumrah’s precision in the death overs was crucial and dampened Gujarat’s momentum. They managed just three runs in the final overs of the 20th innings, as Mumbai won by 20 runs. Gujarat’s weakness among the lower-order batsmen was exposed. Despite reaching 208, the likes of Tewatia, Shahrukh Khan and Rashid Khan did not contribute to the success. This win sends a clear message: Mumbai Indians are comfortable under pressure. Their play-off record, while chasing 200+ points, is now a perfect 18 wins from 18 matches.
The journey from last place to second place as a qualifier is an adventure. And as Mumbai prepare to face Punjab and potentially RCB, their opponents will have to ask themselves: How do you stop a team that refuses to give up? Because now Mumbai Indians say:
Our story is not over yet.
Hardik Pandya’s All-Round Impact in High-Stakes Match
They are a great team and especially in the playoffs they batted first and everyone saw how that atmosphere developed. I think it was because nine out of ten times in the first innings they win, bat five times and lose six times. But today there was an argument between Hardik Pandya and Shubman Gill. When the toss was done, someone put out their hand but Shubman Gill didn’t shake him and when Shubman came out in the first over, Hardik Pandya looked from the side, spoke and left. So I think there was a bit of an argument. Hopefully it will remain an argument till the match and there won’t be any big story after that. But it was a great match. It was a great match and in that great match Mumbai got stuck for a moment but Mumbai came out of it.
Mumbai moved forward. And all the credit goes to one man, Jasprit Bumra. Four overs, 27 runs and one wicket when the other bowlers couldn’t win. They got a defeat, which means they were in a strong position. Whoever got Washington Sundar out was out at a very historic place and that dismissal had the effect of Trent Boult coming back later. He gave 56 runs in four overs. Ashwini Kumar finally came in and bowled really well. He got a wicket. He did a fantastic job. And the other bowlers came back. But I don’t understand why Santner didn’t get an over. Santner could have bowled more overs. Gleeson was a bit expensive. Today was his first match. Deepak Chahar got out. But overall it was a great match. A great match to watch. And the excitement of the IPL is still there. The excitement of the IPL is still there because the next match is in Ahmedabad, on the streets of Ahmedabad. Punjab vs Mumbai. Two good teams, two deadly teams. A great match between the two. Who will rise and who will fall in this match is yet to be seen.
Rohit Sharma became the oldest player to score 80+ runs in the IPL playoffs. Another record of Rohit Sharma is that he set the record at the age of 38 years and 30 days. Earlier, Mike Hussey held this record at the age of 37. He scored 86 runs against MI. Shane Watson also did it against MI. Gilchrist also managed it. Faf Duplissy also did it, but Rohit set this record at the age of 38, which no one had done before and that is a big deal. His record became the highest in the playoffs for Mumbai. Earlier, this record was held by Surya Kumar in 2019, but now these records have been broken and Rohit said that big players perform well in big matches. He scored 47 runs from 29 balls in the semi-final of the 2023 World Cup and also scored 21 runs in the 2023 final. He scored 45 runs in T20, which is 24, and in the World Cup, he scored 57 runs off 39 balls. He scored 76 runs in the Champions Trophy final and now that the IPL Eliminator is being held, he has scored 81 runs off 50 balls. He is the highest at 300.
IPL 2025: Mumbai and Punjab Surge Ahead as Title Contenders
Virat is behind him with 291. Overall, it was a great match. Jonny Bairstow and Surya Kumar Yadav were great, as was Surya every time he scored. His consistency is very good and that is also going well. Rest, Gujarat Sai! I feel very sorry for Sudarshan because he is a great boy. He scored 80 runs off 49 balls. He played a great innings. That means he played 759 runs in the entire season in the qualifier match. In fact, he scored 759 runs at an average of 55 and a strike rate of 156. A hundred, 6 half-centuries, 88 fours, 21. What more do you want? A kid who gives it his all. It’s very unfortunate that even now he is not sure of getting a place in the Indian team after such a performance. That is a great thing that should be praised more, but right now this game has shifted towards Punjab and Mumbai, Punjab and Mumbai are both in a strong position, RCB have made a big move on Punjab, RCB are not going to relax either because they know that whether it is Punjab or Mumbai, both are smart teams and both are dangerous teams, whoever gets to the final will be waiting to eat RCB, so the trophy will not be that easy for RCB, but the next game will also be a real cinema.
