ROHIT SHARMA’s 81 helped Mumbai Indians beat Gujarat Titans by 20 runs in the eliminator on Friday, knocking Gujarat out of the Indian Premier League.
Mumbai, who chose to bat first, put up 228-5 at Mullanpur in New Chandigarh after a strong opening partnership between Rohit and England’s Jonny Bairstow, who scored 47.
Gujarat reached 208-6 in reply despite an 80 by opener Sai Sudharsan in the must-win playoff.
Mumbai will now play Punjab Kings in Qualifier 2 in Ahmedabad on Sunday. The winner will face Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the final on June 3.
Bairstow joined Mumbai ahead of the playoffs as some players left for international duties. He scored 47 off 22 balls to give Mumbai a quick start.
Rohit, who retired from Test cricket along with Virat Kohli, survived two dropped catches on three and 12 by Gujarat fielders. He went on to hit nine fours and four sixes in his 50-ball knock, earning him the player of the match award.
"I've got only four fifties (this season), I think I would have liked to get more," said Rohit. "Today, after having some luck going my way, I knew I had to make the most of it. I'm glad I could do that, and get the team into a good position."
Gujarat missed wicketkeeper-batter Jos Buttler. His replacement, Sri Lanka’s Kusal Mendis, dropped two catches.
"Not easy when we drop three sitters, especially in the powerplay," said Gujarat skipper Shubman Gill. "Not easy for the bowlers to control."
Bairstow missed his fifty when Sai Kishore took his wicket with Gerald Coetzee catching a rebound from Sudharsan.
Rohit went past 7000 IPL runs and completed his 47th fifty in the tournament with a four. Suryakumar Yadav made 33 in 20 balls, hitting three sixes and one four before falling to Kishore.
Gujarat fought back in the middle overs as Prasidh Krishna dismissed Rohit and Siraj took Tilak Varma on 25.
Hardik Pandya ended Mumbai’s innings strongly with an unbeaten 22 off nine balls, as Coetzee gave away 22 runs in the final over.
In Gujarat’s reply, Gill fell lbw for one in the first over to former New Zealand pacer Trent Boult.
Sudharsan, who leads the IPL with 759 runs, kept Gujarat in the chase with an 84-run partnership with Washington Sundar, who scored 48.
Jasprit Bumrah bowled Sundar with a yorker, and England’s Richard Gleeson bowled Sudharsan to end Gujarat’s hopes.
Bumrah returned figures of 1-27 from four overs. Mumbai’s head coach Mahela Jayawardene said Bumrah is a "massive asset."
Impact substitute Sherfane Rutherford fell on 24 in the 19th over. With 24 needed in the final over, Gleeson bowled three balls before leaving the field with a cramp. Ashwani Kumar bowled the remaining deliveries to secure Mumbai’s win.
The tournament was extended by nine days after being paused due to a military conflict between India and Pakistan. Some overseas players, including Buttler, left before the playoffs.
(With inputs from agencies)
