Rohit Sharma makes Akash and Nita Ambani stand up and give standing ovation after fiery knock takes MI to Qualifier 2
Rohit Sharma's excellent 81(50) was the key innings as MI scored a terrific 228-5 in Mullanpur, which proved to be too strong for a weakened GT lineup.
Despite a fair team IPL 2025 campaign by his standards, Rohit Sharma turned up in a big way for Mumbai Indians, as he played a key knock en route to their Eliminator victory over Gujarat Titans in Mullanpur on Friday. Opening the batting in the first innings, Rohit got a start and ensured that he made the most of an extra life after being dropped early.
Ultimately, it was an excellent innings of 81(50), the backbone of a performance that saw MI put on an intimidating 228-5.
Rohit’s innings consisted of nine fours and four sixes, but it was crucially an innings that allowed the rest of Mumbai’s powerful batting to play with freedom and expression. The significance of Rohit’s performance with the season on the line didn’t go unnoticed by MI’s ownership, who were present at the new PCA Stadium to support their team.
Broadcast cameras captured Nita Ambani and team chairman Akash Ambani sitting on their customary sofa at the edge of the field, standing up and applauding Rohit for his contribution after he had been dismissed. The mother-son duo appreciated the former MI captain for his innings, providing a standing ovation for the class and quality they had witnessed in the biggest game of the season thus far.
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Rohit’s 81 was his highest score of this tournament so far, taking him to a very respectable 410 runs in the season despite a rough start where he was consistently dismissed early. Rohit also crossed 7000 IPL runs during this innings, only the second man to reach that milestone after Virat Kohli.
Along with Rohit, MI”s innings was helped out by incoming Jonny Bairstow’s fantastic 47(22) at the top, cameos from Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma, and captain Hardik Pandya ending the innings with emphasis with 22*(9).
The target proved to be too much in a knockout game, as MI’s bowlers delivered despite GT looking dangerous. It was unsurprisingly Jasprit Bumrah who was the key man with the ball, killing GT’s momentum with a brutal yorker to leave Washington Sundar (48) sprawling, and put MI ahead in the game.
From there, it was a clinical death bowling performance to shut the door on GT and bring an end to the season, winning by 20 runs and setting up a chance at yet another IPL final as they meet Punjab Kings in Ahmedabad for Qualifier 2.
