Home
Gujarat Titans (GT) condemned Mumbai Indians (MI) to their second successive defeat in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 clash. Shubman Gill-led GT thrashed MI by 36 runs at the Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad on March 29 to record their first win of the IPL 2025.
Shubman Gill revealed reason behind using black soil pitch after GT's win over MI
Following GT's win over MI, captain Shubman Gill, discussed the team's strategic decision to play the match on a black soil pitch. He explained that batting in the second innings on such surfaces becomes increasingly challenging as the ball gets older, making it difficult for batsmen to hit boundaries effectively.
GT's victory was highlighted by fiery bowling performances from Prasidh Krishna (2/18) and Mohammed Siraj (2/34), along with a solid half-century from Sai Sudharsan (63). This win adds two crucial points to GT's IPL tally. Moreover, they maintained their flawless 4-0 record against MI at their home ground in Ahmedabad, improving their overall head-to-head record against Mumbai Indians to four wins and two losses.
"(On the decision to play on this pitch and when it was taken) The decision was taken before the first match that we would be playing this match on black soil. (On if that decision was based on the opposition) That was a factor as well, this kind of wicket suits our batting and bowling more (than the red soil). Batting on black soil, it is difficult to hit boundaries when the ball gets old, so wanted to hit boundaries (during the powerplay). We can all talk about the plans, certain things go your way, sometimes they don't. (On Rashid not bowling out) I don't know, maybe this could be the first time (he only bowled two overs in a T20 game). I actually kept his overs to bowl in the end, but the way the pacers were bowling…did not want to get the game loosened up. Prasidh was bowling beautifully and thought why not to bowl him out. (On their next games being in Bengaluru and Hyderabad) We have seen the par score on those wickets are quite different from what we have played on (here), but that will be a good challenge," Shubman Gill said at the post-match presentation.
Talking about the match, MI's decision to bowl first after winning the toss backfired. GT's innings got off to a strong start thanks to their openers, Shubman Gill, who scored 38 runs off 27 balls including four boundaries and a six, and Sai Sudharsan, who contributed to a solid 78-run opening partnership. Sudharsan then formed another crucial partnership, a half-century stand, with Jos Buttler, who scored a quick 39 runs from 24 deliveries, hitting five fours and a six. Sudharsan went on to anchor the innings with a well-played 63 runs off 41 balls, which included four boundaries and two sixes. However, after reaching 179 for four wickets, GT experienced a late mini-collapse and were eventually restricted to 196 for eight wickets at the end of their 20 overs.
MI captain Hardik Pandya, was the most successful bowler for his team, taking two wickets for 29 runs. He received support from Trent Boult, Deepak Chahar, Mujeeb ur Rahman, and Satyanarayana Raju, each of whom managed to claim one wicket.
Chasing a target of 197 runs, MI too had a shaky start, losing both Rohit Sharma, who scored 8 runs, and Ryan Rickelton early in their innings. Tilak Varma, with 39 runs off 36 balls including three fours and a six, and Suryakumar Yadav, who scored a fighting 48 runs from 28 balls with a four and four sixes, attempted to revive the chase with a 62-run partnership. However, following their dismissals, MI lost momentum and were ultimately restricted to 160/6.
GT will now take on Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on April 2, while MI's next match will be against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on March 31.
