League stage me third finish karne ke baad, unka confidence high tha — top-order form me tha aur bowling attack pe full bharosa. Lekin May 30 ko Mullanpur ke Maharaja Yadavindra Singh Stadium me Mumbai Indians (MI) ke against 20-run ki haar ne GT ke flaws expose kar diye. “GT ke darr – bowlers ka form khona, undercooked middle order – sach ho gaye, upar se poor catching bhi add ho gayi” – iss line ne unki problems ko perfectly sum up kiya. Yeh analysis teen major issues pe focus karega: inconsistent bowling, weak middle order, aur sloppy fielding — jo GT ke season ke downfall ka reason bane.
1. Bowlers Losing Form: Foundation Hi Hil Gayi
GT ka squad bowling pe built tha. ₹120 crore ke purse me se ₹72 crore sirf bowlers pe laga diye. Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj, Rashid Khan, aur Gerald Coetzee jaise names the. Lekin Eliminator aur uske pehle ke matches me inka form down tha, especially jab sabse zyada zarurat thi.
- Pace ka Breakdown:
Prasidh Krishna ne season me 25 wickets liye, lekin Eliminator me unka 4th over Jonny Bairstow ne 26 runs ka le liya — kuch edges bhi chaar run ke liye gaye. Siraj ka bhi last few games me graph down tha — unhone GT ke last 3 games me 199, 235, aur 230 runs diye. Control hi nahi tha. Gerald Coetzee ne last over me Hardik Pandya ko 3 sixes de diye — total 22 runs gaye. - Rashid Khan ka Flop Show:
Rashid Khan ka yeh unka sabse bekar IPL season raha — sirf 9 wickets in 14 matches, average 53.66, economy 9.47. Unpe 31 sixes pade, jo IPL record hai. Eliminator me bhi kuch control nahi tha unke paas. X (Twitter) pe log bol rahe the ki Rashid ke form ke bina GT ki batting pressure me thi har match me. - Match Pe Asar:
MI ne 228/5 score kiya — playoffs ka second-highest total. Pitch me bounce tha, lekin koi seam movement nahi — GT ke bowlers waha bhi ineffective rahe. Coetzee aur Krishna death overs me fail rahe, aur MI ne total unke reach ke bahar le gaya.
2. Uncooked Middle Order: Kaafi Kacha Tha
GT ki batting heavily top-3 pe dependent thi: Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan, aur Jos Buttler. Lekin Eliminator me Buttler nahi the (international duty), aur Gill first over me out ho gaye — pressure aa gaya beech ke order pe.
- Top 3 Pe Over-Dependency:
Sudharsan ne 80 off 49 maara, Sundar ne 48 off 24, lekin Gill ke 1 run pe out hone ke baad momentum break ho gaya. Buttler ki jagah Kusal Mendis aaye the, lekin unka match practice hi nahi tha — flop ho gaye. - Middle Order ki Halat Kharab:
Rutherford, Shahrukh Khan, aur Rahul Tewatia — sab underwhelming. Rutherford ne 24 off 15 kiya, lekin Boult ke full toss ko mistime karke out ho gaye. Shahrukh sirf 13 off 7, aur Tewatia 16* pe phase gaye — accelerate nahi kar paaye. X pe log bol rahe the ki GT ka middle-order selection hi flawed tha. - Chase ka Breakdown:
Sudharsan-Sundar ne 84-run partnership di, lekin unke out hote hi game MI ke favour me chala gaya. Last 11 balls me 36 runs chahiye the — GT ke lower/middle order me woh firepower hi nahi thi. Match 208/6 pe khatam hua.
3. Poor Catching: Fielding Ne Game Gawa Diya
Fielding errors ne match ki direction MI ke haath me de di.
- Crucial Drops:
Rohit Sharma ko Coetzee ne 3 pe aur Mendis ne 12 pe drop kiya — aur Rohit ne 81 off 50 bana diya. SKY ko bhi 25 pe drop kiya, usne 33 maar diye. Bairstow ne bhi 47 off 22 kiya. Powerplay me hi MI ne 79/0 maar diya, aur GT ka game wahi khatam ho gaya. - Season-Long Fielding Issues:
Yeh sirf Eliminator ka issue nahi tha. Puri season me GT ne catches drop kiye — kaafi matches me yeh costly sabit hua. Is match me bhi, early drops ne bowlers pe double pressure daal diya. - Match Impact:
Drops ne MI ke batters ko open license de diya. Rohit-Bairstow ne 84-run start diya, aur phir Tilak Varma, Dhir, aur Hardik Pandya ne finish strong kiya. Hardik ne last over me 3 sixes maare. Gill bhi maan gaye ki “powerplay me drops ne poora game change kar diya.”
4. Broader Context: Season Bhar Ka Pressure
GT ne season strong start kiya, lekin last 2 league matches bhi haar gaye — dono me milke 465 runs diye. Buttler ki absence aur Mendis ka low match readiness unki batting ko hurt kar gaya. Team combinations bhi questionable the — X pe fans Dasun Shanaka jaise players ko “washed” bol rahe the.
Sudharsan (top run scorer) aur Prasidh (top wicket-taker) ke performances GT ko chalaye, lekin team balance missing tha. MI ke paas depth thi — 5 batters ne 3+ sixes maare aur Bumrah ka 3-0-19-1 spell match-winning tha.
GT ka IPL 2025 campaign teen major issues ki wajah se crash hua: bowlers ka form lose karna, weak middle order, aur poor fielding. Yeh problems season ke dauraan chhup jaate the jab top performers carry karte the team ko — lekin Eliminator me sab saamne aa gaya.
Sudharsan ne full fight diya, lekin alone efforts se game nahi jeeta ja sakta. Shubman Gill ne bhi post-match accept kiya ki team me positives the, lekin execution crunch time me fail ho gaya. 2026 me comeback karne ke liye GT ko bowling me consistency, middle-order me depth, aur fielding me sharpness laani padegi.
