IPL 2023: Gujarat Titans beat Mumbai Indians to enter 2nd consecutive final

Gujarat Titans bagged a clinical victory over Mumbai Indians at Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad in the second qualifier of IPL 2023 on Friday evening to sail to the finals on May 28. Shubman Gill tore apart MI’s bowling attack with a blistering knock of 129 off just 60 deliveries. The deal was sealed in the second innings for Gujarat Titans by Mohit Sharma’s majestic fifer which he produced in only two overs and two deliveries. 

Rain forced a delayed start of the match by 30 minutes. After winning the toss, Rohit Sharma chose to chase due to the weather. The Titans didn’t get off to a great start, but Gill’s knock propelled them to a massive 233 for 3. This was Gill’s third century in four matches.

In the IPL history, no team has ever chased down this many. Mumbai lost two quick wickets. They didn’t go down without a fight, though. Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma pushed them to 72 in six overs before Rashid Khan bowled them out. Suryakumar’s 61 off 38 kept them in the game almost single-handedly from then on. 

When the batter missed a scoop, Mohit Sharma uprooted his leg stump. Rashid trapped Tim David lbw in the next over, effectively ending Mumbai’s hopes. Mohit, who hadn’t bowled until the 14th over, bowled well with his slower balls and finished with figures of 2.2-0-10-5.

Gujarat Titans have entered their second consecutive IPL finals against the big guns Chennai Super Kings. CSK is in its 10th IPL final, with Dhoni’s captaincy and a plethora of experience of playing under pressure, the Titans will be up to a challenge to defend their title.