Mumbai Indians (MI) lost their second consecutive game of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season against Gujarat Titans (GT) by 36 runs at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
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Batting first, Gujarat posted a formidable total of 196 runs, thanks to a 41-ball 63 runs from the opener Sai Sudharsan. Shubman Gill and Jos Buttler chipped in with handy scores to provide the much-needed cushion. Hardik Pandya was the pick of the bowlers for Mumbai. He picked up two wickets, one being that of the GT captain, Gill.
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In reply, Mumbai lost their openers quickly as Rohit Sharma failed to score big again. Tilak Varma and Suryakumar Yadav held the innings quite well for some time, but it wasn't enough.
Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna picked up two wickets each as the bowlers made good use of the gradually slowing track.
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Did Hardik Pandya take a dig at Rohit Sharma and other batsmen?
MI skipper Hardik Pandya returned for this match after a one-match suspension due to slow-over rate offense, but it wasn't the result he was expecting.
In the post-match presentation, Pandya said, "Tough to put (down where it went wrong). There were errors, we were not quite professional in the field - that cost us maybe 20-25 runs."
Pandya also praised the Gujarat batters, especially for their approach in the powerplay, where they accumulated maximum runs by playing low-risk shots. He further urged his batters to step up during such high-stakes chases.
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"They (the GT openers) did the right stuff in the powerplay, they did not play high-risk shots, they got enough runs (playing that way) and that put us on the back foot. Early stage, but at the same time, batters have to come to the party, and hopefully they do that soon."
Pandya concluded that the pitch had variable bounce, which made life difficult for batters.
"I was just thinking I bowled way too many balls. They saw it was gripping and those were the toughest balls to score off. When you have this much variable bounce, it becomes difficult as a batter. They did the same to me (what I did as a bowler)."
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Many think this to be a dig at the batters of the franchise, especially Rohit Sharma, who has been constantly failing for the Paltans in the IPL for quite some time now.
Last year, Mumbai finished at the bottom of the table, which saw a dip in the form of many star players, notably Sharma. He scored 417 in 14 matches, with one century and just a half-century, something way below his usual standards.
Sharma's bad patch has continued for two matches in a row now this season, as Pandya and fans hope for a better display by the veteran batsman in the upcoming matches.
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