MI beat GT in IPL Eliminator to enter Qualifier 2

The mighty Mumbai Indians handled the nerves better on the big stage to outlast Gujarat Titans by 20 runs in a high-scoring IPL Eliminator despite a classy effort from Sai Sudharsan here on Friday.
Rohit Sharma (81 off 50) rode his luck to play a fine knock after Jonny Bairstow (47 off 22) made instant impact on his Mumbai Indians debut to push them to an imposing 228 five in 20 overs.
Titans, who were sloppy in the field and with the ball, were able to take the game down to the wire with sensational batting from Sudharsan (80 off 49) before falling short at 208 for six to exit the tournament.
In the end, it was Mumbai Indians who won the key moments to advance in the competition. The victory took them to Qualifier 2 in Ahmedabad on Sunday when they take on Punjab Kings. Bumrah removed Washington Sundar (48 off 24) with his trademark yorker before Sudharsan missed scoop against Richard Gleeson to see his stumps dislodged, bringing Mumbai Indians back into the game.
The equation came down to 36 from 12 balls with two left-handers Rahul Tewatia and Sher-fane Rutherford in the middle. Mumbai Indians debutant Richard Gleeson bowled the final over with Titans needing 24 runs and he bowled three immaculate deliveries to ensure vic-tory before hobbling out due to hamstring issue.
Earlier, on a surface which had less grass compared to the one used on Thursday, Mumbai Indians decided to bat first and the batters ensured the team goes into the break with an up-per-hand.
Titans dropped three crucial catches — two of Rohit (81 off 50 ) and one of Suryakumar Yadav (33 off 20) – and produced another ordinary effort with the ball in the knock-out fixture. Rohit was dropped twice in the powerplay before veteran made the opposition pay dearly for their on-field errors. On the first occasion, Gerald Coetzee dropped him in the deep and Kusal Mendis’ GT debut went all awry when he bungled a regulation take behind stumps off Mo-hammed Siraj.
It was Bairstow (47 off 22), who gave Mumbai Indians the momentum in the powerplay with some sublime hitting.
He targeted Titans’ best pacer of the season, Prasidh Krishna, plundering him for 26 runs in the fourth over of the innings that included three sixes. The first hit was a pull that comfort-ably sailed over square leg fence before picking the pacer for a clean hit down the ground.
Rohit too got into the act when spinner Sai Kishore was introduced inside the powerplay. The former MI captain employed the sweep shot to perfection to collect two fours and a massive six to take his team to 79 for no loss in six overs, the team’s best powerplay of the season.
Most batters prefer to see out Rashid Khan but having found his rhythm, Rohit even went after the star Afghanistan spinner. He first went for the inside out aerial drive before slog sweeping Rashid for a six. At 113 for one in 10 overs, Mumbai Indians looked unstoppable.
When Suryakumar joined Rohit in the middle, boundaries continued to flow. India’s T20 cap-tain welcome Gerald Coetzee into the attack with couple of sixes, one a pull shot while the other was cut that just about cleared the ropes. Skipper Hardik Pandya picked Coetzee for couple of sixes in the 20th over to push the total past 225.
For third innings in a row, the opposition team was able to amass against a total in excess of 225 against the Titans, contributing their downfall.
Brief scores: Mumbai Indians: 228/5 in 20 overs (Rohit Sharma 81, Jonny Bairstow 47, Surya-kumar Yadav 33; R Sai Kishore 2/42) beat Gujarat Titans: 208/6 in 20 overs (B Sai Sudharsan 80, Washington Sundar 48; Jasprit Bumrah 1/27).