In a thrilling Eliminator clash against the Gujarat Titans on Friday night in New Chandigarh, Rohit Sharma delivered his most impactful performance of IPL 2025, guiding the Mumbai Indians to a high-scoring victory. This crucial win secured MI’s spot in the second qualifier, where they will face Punjab Kings on Sunday.
Rohit’s explosive innings of 81 runs off just 50 balls was instrumental in setting a daunting total of 228/5 for the five-time champions, bringing them a significant step closer to another IPL title. This marked his fourth half-century of the season, though the veteran batsman expressed a hunger for more.
“I’ve got only four fifties (this IPL season). I think I would have liked to get more. I do understand the importance of playing the Eliminator and it was a complete team performance,” Rohit stated after accepting the player-of-the-match award.
Rohit Sharma currently stands as MI’s second-highest run-scorer in IPL 2025, accumulating 410 runs and trailing only Suryakumar Yadav’s impressive 673. His match-winning innings also saw him benefit from a couple of dropped catches, a stroke of luck that contributed to GT’s challenging start in the field. Rohit openly acknowledged the role of fortune in his performance.
“It’s trying to understand how I can play my best. Today, after having the luck going my way, I knew I had to make the most of it. I’m glad I could do that, and get the team into a good position,” he remarked. He further elaborated, “We knew it would be slightly challenging with the dew coming in. I’ve played all those shots in the game before, and unfortunately, I found fielders. I got lucky as those catches got dropped.”
Adding to MI’s batting strength, Jonny Bairstow stepped in as a replacement opener for the crucial IPL Playoffs. With South African Ryan Rickelton departing for the World Test Championship final, the England international made an immediate impact, smashing a quickfire 47 runs off just 22 balls.
Now MI will face PBKS and the winner of this match will face RCB in the finals.
