IPL 2025: Gujarat Titans stroll to comfortable win over five-time champions Mumbai Indians

Sudharsan cracks second half-century in a row on way to 36-run victory at Narendra Modi Stadium

Sai Sudharsan top-scored for Gujarat Titans with 63 in their 36-run win over Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League clash at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on March 29, 2025. AP

Gujarat Titans' Prasidh Krishna (L) celebrates with captain Shubman Gill (R) and Mohammed Siraj (C) after taking the wicket of Mumbai Indians' Tilak Varma during the Indian Premier League (IPL) Twenty20 cricket match between Gujarat Titans and Mumbai Indians at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on March 29, 2025. (Photo by INDRANIL MUKHERJEE / AFP) / -- IMAGE RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - STRICTLY NO COMMERCIAL USE --

Mumbai's Suryakumar Yadav top-scored for his team with a 28-ball 48. Reuters

Gujarat bowler Mohammed Siraj of Gujrat Titans celebrates after bowling Mumbai opener Rohit Sharma for eight. Getty Images

Mumbai batter Tilak Verma hit 39 off 36 balls including three fours and one six. AP

Mumbai opener Ryan Rickelton is bowled by Gujarat bowler Mohammed Siraj for six. Reuters

Mumbai captain Hardik Pandya, left, celebrates after taking the wicket of Gujarat counterpart Shubman Gill. AFP

Mumbai's Hardik Pandya celebrates after running out Gujarat batter Rahul Tewatia for a first-ball duck. Reuters

Jos Buttler scored 39 off 24 balls for Gujarat Titans, including five fours and a six. AFP

Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya smiles at Shubman Gill after claiming his Gujarat counterpart's wicket for 38. AP

Opener Sai Sudharsan smashed a second successive Indian Premier League half-century before Gujarat Titans fast-bowlers pinned down Mumbai Indians on the way to a 36-run IPL win on Saturday.

Sudharsan's 63 off 41 balls proved crucial to his team's 196-8 after being invited to bat first at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

Fast-bowler Mohammad Siraj then led the bowling charge with 2-34 to limit Mumbai to 160-6 as the five-time winners fell to a second defeat in two games.

Siraj removed the Mumbai openers to dent the chase and Prasidh Krishna to hurt the middle-order to return figures of 2-18.

Mumbai's former captain Rohit Sharma started on the front foot with two successive boundaries before Siraj bowled the opener for eight on the fourth ball.

Siraj was on fire when he bowled South African wicketkeeper-batsman Ryan Rickelton for six as the left-hander inside-edged on to his stumps.

Tilak Varma and Suryakumar Yadav attempted to rebuild in a third-wicket stand of 62 until Krishna struck to remove the former for 39.

Yadav hit 48 and smashed four sixes in an attempt to keep up with the ever-increasing scoring rate and, along with captain Hardik Pandya, looked to drag his team back into the match.

But the bowling remained disciplined and Krishna got his reward with Yudav's wicket and South African quick Kagiso Rabada dismissed Pandya, for 11, as the chase fizzled out.

Krishna, a fast-medium bowler who has played three Tests, 17 ODIs and five T20s for India, was named player of the match.

“I was itching to bowl. We were sitting and watching how the first innings went. So we understood that cutters into the wicket were working well,” he said.

Earlier, Gujarat openers Sudharsan and Shubman Gill started cautiously before the two hammered 35 runs across overs five and six.

Returning Pandya cut short skipper Gill's knock on 38 when he had the attacking opener caught at deep square leg to end a 78-run opening stand.

Pandya missed his team's opening loss due a suspension from the previous edition when he was charged for a slow-over rate offence. He returned figures of 2-29 with his pace bowling.

The left-handed Sudharsan built another key stand with England's Jos Buttler, who kept up the charge with regular boundaries as he hit 39 off 24 balls.

Afghanistan spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman dismissed Buttler, caught behind as the Gujarat bowlers hit back.

Pandya dismissed the big-hitting Shahrukh Khan for nine and West Indies left-hander Sherfane Rutherford fell to seam bowler Deepak Chahar for 18.

Sudharsan held firm in a middle-order stutter and reached his fifty before New Zealand left-arm quick Trent Boult trapped the batsman lbw.

Disciplined bowling denied Gujarat a big finish in the final few overs but the total proved enough for the team's first win.

“Tough to put it together, I think in batting and bowling we were 15-20 runs short in both places,” said Pandya.

“We were not professional in the field, we made basic errors and that cost us 20-25 runs and in a T20 game that is quite a lot.”