Deepak Chahar lacks presence of mind, Hardik Pandya misses easy throw as GT hold nerves on last ball to edge past MI
Gujarat Titans were behind the DLS par score at 132-6 during the second break, but after a long wait, achieved a nail-biting victory.
It was another thrilling contest in IPL 2025 on Tuesday night. Gujarat Titans edged past Mumbai Indians in a last-ball thriller at Wankhede Stadium. Rain affected the intense clash twice, which added more thrill to it with a revised target for the Gujarat Titans.
Gujarat were behind the DLS par score at 132-6 during the second break, but after a long wait, achieved a nail-biting victory.
The revised target was set for 147 as the chase was cut short to 19 overs as Gujarat needed15 from the final six balls with Rahul Tewatia and Gerald Coetzee in the middle.
Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya chose Deepak Chahar to bowl the all-important over, but he failed to hold on to his nerves.
Tewatia hit a boundary off the first ball to put the pressure on Chahar, a single came off the second ball. Coetzee smashed a six on the third ball before holing out on the fifth with only one run required to win. Chahar also bowled a no-ball in the over.
Arshad Khan came out to bat in the tricky position and he hit it towards mid-off and ran straightaway to steal a single. Hardik picked the ball but missed out on a throw from close range, and the Titans registered a crucial win.
The poor throw came under the scanner as the fans were not impressed with Chahar's lack of presence of mind as he didn't come near the stumps to gather the ball. Hardik also faced backlash for not throwing the ball towards Suryakumar Yadav, who was close to stumps, instead he went for a direct hit and missed it from close range with the batter completely out of frame.
During the first rain break, Titans were in total control with 113/2, which was above par via DLS at that time but when the game resumed, MI pace duo Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult flipped the script.
Bumrah bowled Shubman Gill for a 46-ball 43, and his pace partner Boult trapped impact substitute Sherfane Rutherford lbw for 28, and suddenly there was panic in GT's chase. Bumrah rattled the stumps of the big-hitting Shahrukh Khan and Gujarat slipped to 126-6 when Rashid Khan was out for two. However, MI failed to hold their nerves in the final over and ended up throwing two points away.
With the win, Titans moved to the top of the points table and moved inches closer to the playoffs spot, while Mumbai Indians dropped down to the fourth spot.
