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Gujarat Titans returned to winning ways at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Tuesday, beating Mumbai Indians by 55 runs. Hardik Pandya’s men broke the jinx of not being able to defend totals at home this season while registering its first ever win against MI.
GT registered its highest IPL total – 207 for six – with a Shubman Gill half-century and a deadly David Miller-Abhinav Manohar six-fest. The host’s Afghan spin duo of Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmad then strangled the MI batters in the chase as the Titans leapt to the second spot with its fifth win.
The Mumbai chase was off to a sluggish start as skipper Hardik snapped up his counterpart Rohit Sharma, a mistimed flick offering a simple caught-and-bowled opportunity in the second over. Hardik and Mohammed Shami constricted MI to 29 for one – its joint-lowest PowerPlay total this season.
As it happened
Rashid sprang into action in the eighth over as he dismissed a struggling Kishan and Impact sub Tilak Varma with a slider within three deliveries. Meanwhile, Noor took advantage of MI’s desperation after it was left with a 150-run deficit in the last ten overs.
The left-armer castled Green and removed the big-hitting Tim David for a two-ball duck in his third over before stopping Suryakumar Yadav with a brilliant reflex catch off his bowling. Young southpaw Nehal Wadhera (40) impressed with some lusty hits, but the lower-order had an unsurmountable task before them.
In the evening, Mumbai’s bowling worsened progressively after opting to bowl. While opener Wriddhiman Saha and Hardik were dismissed within the first seven overs, Shubman Gill’s counterattacking knock helped the Titans in the first half.
Gill nimbly shifted gears against spinners Piyush Chawla and Kumar Kartikeya to raise his third fifty of the season in 30 balls. While Gill fell to Kartikeya in the 12th over, Miller (46, 22b, 2×4, 4×6) and Manohar’s 21-ball 42 resurrected the innings with a 77-run stand. Rahul Tewatia added the finishing blitz with three maximums during his five-ball cameo.
MI’s Australian seam trio – Green, Riley Meredith and Jason Behrendroff – totalled eight sixes in the last three overs. While it was marginally better than last Saturday’s death-bowling effort against Punjab Kings, captain Rohit will be in a fix with his options as the league stage enters the second half.
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