MI ka score banane mein sabse bada haath tha unke captain Rohit Sharma ka, jinhone 81 run thoke, 50 ball mein, 9 four aur 4 chhakkon ke saath. Rohit ne shuruaat mein Jonny Bairstow ke saath 84 run ki dhamaakedaar opening partnership ki, jisme Bairstow ne 22 ball mein 47 run (4 four, 3 six) banaye. Ye dono ne powerplay mein GT ke bowlers ki band baja di, par Bairstow ko R Sai Kishore ne ek shandaar relay catch ke through out kiya, jisme Sai Sudharsan aur Gerald Coetzee ka haath tha.
Rohit ke 81 run ke dauraan GT ne do catch chhode, jab wo 3 aur 12 pe the, aur iska faida uthate hue unhone IPL mein 7,000 run poore kiye, Virat Kohli ke baad doosre Indian bane, aur 300 IPL sixes maarne wale pehle Indian bhi. Unhone MI ke liye bhi 250 sixes ka mark hit kiya. Middle order ne bhi kamaal kiya – Suryakumar Yadav ne 33 run (20 ball, 2 six) banaye, Rohit ke saath 59 run ki partnership ki, aur Tilak Varma ne 11 ball mein 25 run jode. Captain Hardik Pandya ne aakhir mein 9 ball pe 22 run (3 six) maar ke GT ke bowlers ko hila diya, khaas kar Coetzee ke last over mein 22 run loot liye. MI ka total 228/5 raha, 14 four aur 17 six ke saath, jo IPL playoffs ka doosra sabse bada score tha aur Mullanpur ground ka sabse bada.
GT ki chase ki shuruaat kharaab rahi – captain Shubman Gill pehli hi over mein Trent Boult ke haathon 1 run pe out ho gaye. 4 over mein GT 41/1 pe the, Sai Sudharsan aur Kusal Mendis khel rahe the, par 229 ka target ek slow Mullanpur pitch pe bada mushkil dikha. MI ke bowlers, khaas kar Boult aur Jasprit Bumrah, ne pressure banaye rakha. Bumrah ka playoff record (8 match, 11 wicket, 6.29 economy) unhe aur khatarnak banata hai. GT ke paas Jos Buttler nahi the, aur unka middle order pehle se kamzor maana jata hai. GT ne is season ke league stage mein MI ko 2-0 se haraaya tha, par itna bada target chase karna unke liye ek bada challenge tha. Jeetne wali team Punjab Kings ke khilaaf Qualifier 2 khelegi, aur haarne wali ghar jaayegi.
MI ke batsmen ne full dhoom machayi – Rohit ka experience, Bairstow ka debut dhamaka, aur Pandya ka aakhiri tadka, sabne mila ke GT ke liye ek bada headache khada kiya. Ab GT ke top order, khaas kar Sudharsan aur Mendis, ko kuch kamaal dikhana hoga agar unhe IPL 2025 mein aage badhna hai.
