The Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad has by no means been a contented looking floor for Mumbai Indians (MI). Forward of the match towards Gujarat Titans (GT), Hardik Pandya’s aspect had been beneath immense stress to finish their fourth straight defeat.
When Mumbai Indians entered the bottom to face house staff Gujarat Titans, they had been on the backside of the IPL 2026 factors desk. Moreover, Rohit Sharma was not included within the beginning lineup attributable to harm.
MI defeated GT in type in Ahmedabad
Regardless of all expectations, the five-time IPL champions pulled off a formidable win towards Gujarat Titans. Tilak Varma was named the Participant of the Match for securing a sensational century. Buoyed by Varma’s unbeaten 101-run knock off 45 balls, No. 1 batsman MI scored 199 runs in 20 overs.
Chasing the overall was not straightforward on the sluggish roads of Ahmedabad. The GT batsman’s troubles steadily elevated when he began dropping essential wickets from the primary ball of his second innings. Jasprit Bumrah took his first IPL 2026 wicket by dismissing Sai Sudharshan.
Mumbai Indians’ bowling staff additionally carried out nicely.
Influence participant Ashwini Kumar was excellent. He took 4 wickets in 4 overs in return for simply 24 runs. The abroad spinner duo of Mitchell Santner and Allah Ghazanfar obtained two innings every to affix the wicket-taking feast. Earlier than the fierce assault of MI bowling, Gujarat Titans may solely rating 100 runs and Mumbai Indians gained by an enormous margin of 99 runs.
“It is crucial. It is at all times troublesome to go away and win. However on the similar time, it was additionally a really robust match for us towards Ahmedabad for Mumbai Indians. And sure, we simply performed some good cricket. And it feels very particular as a result of it was a lot wanted,” Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya mentioned after the match.
Hardik Pandya praised centurion Tilak Varma
“Tilak has nice expertise and actually would not have to fret about a variety of issues. So the one message I stored telling him was to only watch the ball and hit the ball it doesn’t matter what, as a result of I actually consider that the balls that come off his bat are actually particular.”
“It was about time for him to return and ship. Yeah, I believe he raised his voice an excessive amount of a couple of instances and obtained dizzy,” Hardik Pandya mentioned, explaining how Tilak Varma pulled off such an excellent knock beneath stress.
“Sure, but it surely was very crucial for the group. It was very crucial for Tilak. It was very crucial for Mumbai Indians as nicely. And as a captain, that sort of power can solely change issues,” Hardik Pandya added.
The 99-run victory helped Hardik Pandya’s aspect transfer from tenth to seventh place within the factors desk.th 10 staff league location. After 6 video games, that they had 4 factors with 2 wins and 4 losses, and their internet run price improved to +0.067.
Learn extra: ‘We conceded too many runs’: Shubman Gill slams bowlers after crushing defeat towards Mumbai Indians in IPL 2026
