No more second chances for Mumbai Indians and Gujarat Titans
After finishing a gruelling season at No. 3 and 4, Gujarat Titans and Mumbai Indians face off in a knockout
Hemant Brar
29-May-2025 • 17 hrs ago
Big picture: Can GT cope without Buttler?
Before the start of IPL 2025, Gujarat Titans (GT) seemed to have a hole in their batting line-up. They had an excellent top three and a bunch of finishers but the middle order looked thin. GT, though, finished third in the league stage and will now face Mumbai Indians (MI) in the Eliminator in New Chandigarh on Friday. The winner moves on to Qualifier 2, one step closer to the final; the loser is eliminated.
GT relied heavily on their top three during their run to the playoffs. In most games, at least one of Shubman Gill, B Sai Sudharsan and Jos Buttler batted so deep that the middle order was barely required. On the rare occasion when they fell relatively early, Sherfane Rutherford and Shahrukh Khan proved that the perceived hole in the middle order wasn't so deep.
The interruption to the season, however, interrupted GT's momentum. They were on course for a top-two finish but lost their last two league games and dropped to No. 3. Now Buttler has left for the England duty and GT's first match without him is the Eliminator. His replacement Kusal Mendis is a fine batter but he is not in the same league. Moreover, he has never played the IPL and his last innings in a competitive game was more than a month ago.
GT were perhaps the only franchise to have constructed their squad around their bowling. But with Mohammed Siraj's form tapering off and Rashid Khan's never really picking up, their strongest department does not look as strong. In the last three games, they conceded 199, 235 and 230.
MI, on the other hand, are a galaxy of stars. But not everyone has been shining as brightly. Suryakumar Yadav is their leading run-getter with 640, but the next best, Ryan Rickelton, is 252 behind. And he is not available for the playoffs. The next on the list is Rohit Sharma with 329.
Unlike Mendis for GT, MI's replacement for Rickelton is an IPL veteran: Jonny Bairstow. Last fortnight, he smashed twin fifties for Yorkshire, albeit in a red-ball game. Will Jacks, who has also left MI for England duty, does not leave behind that big a hole. On current form, their bowling attack also seems stronger than GT's.
GT, though, will draw confidence from having beaten MI in both league games. In fact, MI are yet to beat any of the three other teams in the playoffs. They did have a six-match winning streak in the middle, but after two losses in their last three league games, they no longer appear invincible.
Form guide
Gujarat Titans LLWWW (last five matches, most recent first)
Mumbai Indians LWLWW
Mumbai Indians LWLWW
In the spotlight: Rashid Khan and Jasprit Bumrah
Rashid Khan and Jasprit Bumrah have been T20 cricket's best spinner and best fast bowler for years now. But they have had contrasting fortunes in IPL 2025. Rashid is having his worst IPL season. In 14 games, he has picked up just nine wickets at an average of 53.66 and an economy 9.47. The 31 sixes he has been hit for are the joint most for any bowler in an IPL season alongside Siraj in 2022.
Bumrah missed the first four matches as he was recovering from a back injury. Despite that, he is joint sixth on the list of highest wicket-takers this season. He has taken 17 at an average of 14.64 and economy of 6.33, both a personal best for him in an IPL season.
Team news and likely XIIs
Mendis replacing Buttler could be the only change for GT.
Gujarat Titans (probable): 1 Shubman Gill (capt), 2 B Sai Sudharsan, 3 Kusal Mendis (wk), 4 Sherfane Rutherford, 5 M Shahrukh Khan, 6 Rahul Tewatia, 7 Rashid Khan, 8 Gerald Coetzee, 9 Arshad Khan, 10 R Sai Kishore, 11 Mohammed Siraj, 12 Prasidh Krishna
Bairstow coming in for Rickelton is a straight swap. Choosing between Charith Asalanka and Bevon Jacobs for Jacks could be trickier, but Asalanka's offspin could tilt the decision in his favour.
Mumbai Indians (probable): 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 Jonny Bairstow (wk), 3 Tilak Varma, 4 Suryakumar Yadav, 5 Charith Asalanka/Bevon Jacobs, 6 Hardik Pandya (capt), 7 Naman Dhir, 8 Mitchell Santner, 9 Deepak Chahar, 10 Trent Boult, 11 Jasprit Bumrah, 12 Karn Sharma
The big question
Pitch and conditions
New Chandigarh has not dished out consistent pitches this season. In the four games played there before the playoffs, a team lost after making 201 and a team won after scoring 111. In Qualifier 1, Punjab Kings (PBKS) were all out for 101 on a surface that helped both seamers and spinners, but it will be a fresh pitch for the Eliminator. The weather forecast for Friday is likely to be cloudy, but there is no indication of rain.
Key stats
- In the IPL, Hardik Pandya has dismissed Gill four times in 23 balls while giving away only 19 runs.
- Mendis has struggled against Mitchell Santner in T20 cricket - four dismissals in 39 balls for just 34 runs.
- Across all T20s, Suryakumar has taken Rashid for 117 runs in 77 balls without a dismissal. Rashid has dominated his match-up against Hardik, though: 32 runs in 44 balls, two dismissals.
- Tilak Varma has faced seven balls from Prasidh Krishna in the IPL. He's been dismissed twice and hasn't scored a run.
Hemant Brar is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo