Rohit ka batting tha ekdum jhakaas. Shuru mein hi GT ke fielders ne unko do baar mauka diya—Gerald Coetzee ne 3 run pe ek seedha catch chhod diya, aur Kusal Mendis ne 12 run pe wicket ke peeche ball pakdi nahi. Rohit ne iska full fayda uthaya aur 50 ball mein 81 run thok diye, jisme 7 four aur 3 sixes the. Iske saath unhone IPL mein 7000 run aur 300 sixes ka mark bhi cross kiya. Unhone kaha, “Main ye shots pehle bhi khel chuka hoon, par fielders ke haath mein jaate the. Is baar thodi luck mili, aur maine tempo banaye rakha.” Suryakumar Yadav (33 off 20), Tilak Varma, aur Hardik Pandya (22* off 9) ne bhi solid support diya, aur MI ne 17 sixes ke saath IPL playoffs ka doosra sabse bada total banaya.
Jonny Bairstow, jo MI ke liye pehla match khel raha tha, ne aate hi dhoom macha di. County cricket mein back-to-back fifties ke baad, usne GT ke bowlers, khaas karke Prasidh Krishna, ko koota. Chauthe over mein 26 run maar ke, jisme 3 sixes aur 2 four the, usne MI ko season ka best powerplay diya—79/0. Rohit ne kaha, “Bairstow ka style hi alag hai. Laga hi nahi ke uska pehla match hai. Usne chance liya aur kaam ban gaya.” Bairstow ka wicket ek mast relay catch se gaya, par tab tak MI 84 run ka opening stand bana chuka tha.
Bowling mein Jasprit Bumrah ne apna jalwa dikha diya. GT ke Sai Sudharsan ne 80 run (49 ball) ki shandaar batting ki, par Bumrah ke ek zabardast yorker ne Washington Sundar (48 off 24) ko out karke 84 run ka partnership tod diya. Youngster Ashwani Kumar ne sirf 29 run diye, aur Richard Gleeson ne hamstring injury ke bawajood last over mein jeet pakki ki. Hardik Pandya ne mazaak mein kaha, “Bumrah toh Mumbai ke ghar ke daam jaisa hai—mehnga aur magical!”
GT ka fielding ekdum bekaar raha—teen catch chhode powerplay mein, aur bowling bhi kuch khaas nahi thi. Sai Sudharsan ke bawajood, Shubman Gill ka pehle over mein out hona aur Kusal Mendis ka hit-wicket ne GT ko peeche rakha. Shubman ne kaha, “Teen catch chhodna aur wo bhi powerplay mein, mushkil ho jata hai. Bowlers ke liye control karna tough tha.” Rohit ne MI ke performance ko saraha, “Puri team ne ek saath kaam kiya. Start ka fayda uthaya aur dew ke bawajood acchi bowling ki.”
Ab MI, apna sixth IPL title jeetne ke sapne ke saath, Punjab Kings se Qualifier 2 mein takkrayega. Rohit ka leadership, Bairstow ka dhamaka, aur Bumrah ka magic MI ko final tak le ja sakta hai, jahan Royal Challengers Bengaluru 3 June 2025 ko unka intezaar karega.
