Mumbai Indians put up a good all-round performance to knock Gujarat Titans out of IPL 2025 in the Eliminator in Mullanpur on Friday.

The Hardik Pandya-led team will now head to Ahmedabad where they will meet Punjab Kings in Qualifier 2 for a place in the final. RCB have already booked their berth in the title clash.

Chasing 229 in such a high-stakes contest means there's pressure from the outset, not least when you have the class and accuracy of Jasprit Bumrah in the opposition.

Still, the Titans came close before falling short by 20 runs. Sai Sudharsan led the charge with 80 off 49 balls, while Washington Sudar contributed 48 off 24.

Bumrah bowled the 18th over with 45 needed and conceded only 9 runs. The Titans lost way thereafter and never recovered. The statistics were revealing: While Mumbai hit 17 sixes, the Titans managed just eight.

Blistering knock

Rohit Sharma’s majestic 81 and a blistering opening partnership with Jonny Bairstow powered Mumbai Indians to 228/5.

There were useful contributions from Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma and Hardik Pandya, but it was the openers who set the momentum for the five-time champions. No matter who came in at the fall of a wicket, they had a free swing and contributed in their own way.

Mumbai captain Pandya finished with three sixes in the final over. They hit 17 in all, the joint third-most in any innings this season.

The Titans bowlers seemed to make a comeback in the 19th over when Prasidh Krishna gave away only eight runs, but Pandya smashed 22 off the final one to make it tough for the Titans.

Big-match player

Rohit, it seems, had reserved his best for the playoffs and delivered when Mumbai needed it the most. He has this uncanny habit of getting into the groove on the big occasions.

The former captain did have his share of luck on a couple of occasions in the early part of his innings, but once he had settled into his role, there was no stopping him.

It was not a typical Rohit knock where he started in an explosive mood. He took his time to get used to the wicket as his new opening partner Bairstow, making his Mumbai Indians debut, blazed away at the other end.

The pair added 84 for the first wicket with Bairstow contributing 47 off 22 balls. Such was their domination that Mumbai put up 79 runs, their best this season, in the Powerplay.

Dropped chances

Surya kept the momentum going once he joined Rohit. Dropped catches made the task of the Titans bowlers difficult. Kusal Mendis had a forgettable IPL debut behind the stumps. He put down Rohit and then Surya as he was threatening to cut loose. Surya tried to steer Gerald Coetzee, but Mendis couldn’t latch on to his thick edge.

Scoreboard: MI vs GT

Mumbai Indians

l R. Sharma c Rashid b Prasidh 81

J. Bairstow c Coetzee b Kishore 47

S. Yadav c Sundar b Kishore 33

T. Varma c Mendis b Siraj 25

H. Pandya not out 22

N. Dhir c Rashid b Prasidh 9

M. Santner not out 0

Extras (b-7, w-4) 11

Total (5 wickets, 20 overs) 228

Fall of wickets: 1/84, 2/143, 3/186, 4/194, 5/206

Bowling: l Siraj 4-0-37-1, Krishna 4-0-53-2, Kishore 4-0-42-2, Rashid 4-0-31-0, Coetzee 3-0-51-0, Sundar 1-0-7-0

Gujarat Titans

S. Sudharsan b Gleeson 80S. Gill lbw Boult 1K. Mendis hit wicket b Santner 20W. Sundar b Bumrah 48l S. Rutherford c Tilak b Boult 24R. Tewatia not out 16MS Khan c Yadav b Ashwani 13R. Khan not out 0Extras (lb-2, w-4) 6Total (6 wickets, 20 overs) 208Fall of wickets: 1/3, 2/67, 3/151, 4/170, 5/193, 6/208Bowling: Boult 4-0-56-2; Bumrah 4-0-27-1; Gleeson 3.3-0-39-1; Hardik 3-0-37-0; Santner 1-0-10-1; Dhir 1-0-9-0; l Ashwani 3.3-0-28-1

l Impact Player l Replaced player

Mumbai Indian won by 20 runs

MoM: Rohit Sharma