After a lowly finish to the league stage with a defeat to Punjab Kings, depriving them of a Qualifier 1 spot, Mumbai Indians brought their A-game to the IPL 2025 Eliminator contest to stave off an in-form Gujarat Titans outfit in New Chandigarh on Friday night.
Banking on the collective firepower of a vaunted top-order, MI racked up a mammoth 228 for five total batting first after winning the toss. The score proved to be just above-par as GT’s chase led by Sai Sudharsan and Washington Sundar, offered a scare to MI’s unbeaten record across 18 matches whilst defending 200-plus totals in the IPL.
At a ground where the Punjab batters flounded the previous day in the Qualifier 1 match, MI rode on a belligerent start laid out by openers Rohit Sharma and Jonny Bairstow who seized 79 runs within the Powerplay.
Story continues below this ad
MI set unique IPL six-hitting record
Mumbai thereby went onto set up a unique top-order sixes record after Rohit and Bairstow launched four and three maximums respectively. The onslaught did not stop there as MI’s leading run-scorer, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, and captain Hardik Pandya also proceeded to hit three sixes each batting between No. 3 to 5.
Consequently, Mumbai became the first IPL team to have all of the top 5 batters to smash at least three sixes in a team innings. With No. 6 Naman Dhir launching one six, MI’s total of 17 sixes was their second-best ever in an IPL match, only behind the 20 maximums they struck against the SunRisers Hyderabad in 2024.
On the sixes count, MI have tallied a total of 135 sixes this edition, five behind their best haul of 140 sixes in the IPL 2023 season. Overall, Sunrisers hold the league record, having smashed 178 sixes last season. Despite being eliminated in the league stage, Lucknow Super Giants tops the sixes charts this season after slamming 152 sixes in 14 matches.
