‘Hardik In, Rohit out, IPL just keeps on giving’ – Fans react to a comprehensive win for Gujarat Titans in IPL 2023 Qualifier 2

Mumbai Indians and Gujarat Titans faced off in the IPL 2023 Qualifier 2 at the Narendra Modi stadium on Friday. Mumbai Indians won the toss and chose to bowl first considering the rain and the dew factor in mind. It was a great start by the Gujarat Titans as they didn’t lose any wickets during the powerplay overs.

The last powerplay over had a significant event. Tim David dropped Shubman Gill as he played an overhead drive off Jordan when the Indian opener was at 30. That miss ended up being very expensive. Mumbai had absolutely no clue how to respond to the GT opener’s turn in tactics when he reached fifty runs, and Mumbai was completely unprepared. Gill destroyed MI’s bowlers and scored a superb century, his third in his last four games. 

Gill humiliated Madhwal, who won Player of the Match for his previous performance. He finally defeated the centurion, but not before giving up in excess of fifty runs. Although the Mumbai Indians were able to get in a few quiet overs, Jordan finished with a score of 0/56 after leaking 19 runs in his final over, costing the English international another costly outing. 

To even come close to the goal, the five-time champions require something exceptional. Mumbai Indians have successfully pursued 200+ targets on four occasions this season, but this is a target that only the greatest in the business can accomplish, and Mumbai will also be under pressure during the play-offs.

Taking a look at the Mumbai Indians chase of the mighty Gujarat Titans: 

Before the innings had started, Mumbai Indians missed Ishan Kishan, and impact replacement Nehal Wadhera was dismissed by Shami in the first over. Rohit mistimed his pluck to fine leg, allowing the Indian pacer to strike once more. Tilak Varma started out quickly, scoring 24 runs from the Shami over. Rashid, though, knocked him over on the final powerplay. 

When Cameron Green and Suryakumar Yadav formed a solid connection, Mumbai Indians entered their greatest phase. However, Joshua Little later killed the big Australian with a superb ball on the stumps. After that, the innings deteriorated, and despite SKY’s repeated threats to end the game, he was limited in what he could accomplish. 

Soon after reaching 50, Suryakumar was cut down because Mohit Sharma had a hit in his opening over. The returning player had a tremendous game as he finished with his best IPL numbers of 5/10. A strong bowling effort helped Gujarat Titans advance to the final, but it would not have seemed possible without an incredible century from Shubman Gill.

Fans react to a comprehensive win for Gujarat Titans in IPL 2023 Qualifier 2 : –

Gujarat Titans are through to the Final of IPL 2023.

It's CSK Vs GT on Sunday! pic.twitter.com/Y3Hs3GuVOS

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) May 26, 2023

MI never deserved to b in the playoffs. Except for extraordinary knocks by Sky and Green and a few cameos by TV and Tim David which luckily went their way, it was some ordinary gameplay mostly

— Ramkrishna Iyer (@KannanK51531500) May 26, 2023

https://twitter.com/SnehashishPaul7/status/1662164137701675008?s=20

https://twitter.com/Chiku_Bhaiya/status/1662164029354418181?s=20

MI fans crying is my source of happiness. I live for this day, their tears work as glucose for my body, and their screams bring peace to my ears. Seeing them lose is the best scenery I can ever witness

— Aarav (@sigma__male_) May 26, 2023

We have done better than 7 teams with worst bowling line-up
So cheen up guys

— Hitman zindabad (@KrrishK43904676) May 26, 2023

A big question on Mi Management:
– why didn't they played Dewald Brevis ahead of Jordan?
– Will they release Rohit Sharma or just keep him for Captaincy Quota?

— K ♡ (@sarphiribalika_) May 26, 2023

https://twitter.com/NiravGupta9/status/1662163624272756737?s=20

Reason behind MI's loss pic.twitter.com/s2Zy0r9frk

— Shahzeb Khan (@theshahzebkhan) May 26, 2023

https://twitter.com/ready_to_rebel/status/1662163780795777024?s=20

This is the first time in the IPL history that the opening match and the Final will be played by the same teams in the season. #IPL2023 #IPLFinal #GTvCSK

— Yash. (@UnfilteredYash) May 26, 2023

https://twitter.com/imkohli45/status/1662163852258312192?s=20