Ahmedabad: Mumbai Indians (MI) shattered their four-match losing streak with a commanding 99-run victory over Gujarat Titans (GT), orchestrated by an electrifying maiden IPL century from Tilak Varma and a devastating bowling spell by Ashwani Kumar in the 30th match of Indian Premier League 2026 at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad, on Monday.
MI came in with quite a few changes in the squad compared to previous matches. Rohit Sharma was not playing due to injury, and MI opened with debutants Danish Malewar and Krish Bhagat, who replaced Deepak Chahar.
The match began with GT won the toss and elected to bowl first. Kagiso Rabada took the new ball and delivered a sensational spell, becoming one of the main reasons for MI’s top-order collapse. He dismissed Quinton de Kock (13 off 11), debutant Danish Malewar (2 off 4), and bowled Suryakumar Yadav (15 off 10), finishing with outstanding figures of 3 for 33 in 4 overs. After losing three wickets in the powerplay, MI needed a solid partnership to rebuild the innings. That came through Naman Dhir and Tilak Varma. Dhir, who was promoted up the order, played a valuable knock of 45 off 32 balls before being dismissed by Prasidh Krishna. This crucial partnership shifted the momentum in MI’s favor. Tilak Varma was the main force behind MI’s recovery and dominance. He showcased brutal ball-striking, starting cautiously with 19 off 22 balls before accelerating dramatically. In the next 23 balls, he smashed 82 runs, producing a scintillating maiden IPL century. He finished unbeaten on 101 off just 45 balls, hitting 8 fours and 7 sixes at a strike rate of 224.44. Tilak Varma became the first MI batter to outscore the entire opposition. One of the highlights was an over against Ashok Sharma where he struck 6, 4, 4, 6, 6, 0.
Batting at No. 5, Varma became only the fourth player in IPL history to score a century from that position, joining Yusuf Pathan, David Miller, and Ben Stokes. Remarkably, Varma also became the first MI batter to outscore the entire opposition in an IPL match. MI ended with an impressive total of 199 for 5, which seemed unlikely after their early struggles.
Chasing 200, GT opened with Sai Sudharsan and captain Shubman Gill. Jasprit Bumrah struck on the very first ball, dismissing Sudharsan for a duck—his first wicket of the season. In the very next over, Jos Buttler was trapped LBW by Hardik Pandya. Gill was then dismissed in the third over, by Ashwani Kumar for 14 off 13 balls. After losing three wickets in the powerplay, GT were under immense pressure. Without contributions from key players like Washington Sundar, the batting order collapsed quickly and failed to build any resistance. MI’s bowling attack dominated the innings. Ashwani Kumar delivered a magnificent spell, picking up 4 for 24 in his 4 overs. Mitchell Santner provided excellent control with 2 for 16 in 3 overs, while Allah Ghazanfar contributed with 2 for 17 in 2.5 overs. GT were bowled out for just 100 in 15.5 overs, handing MI a convincing 99-run victory. With that, MI register their first win at Ahmedabad against GT in five occasions. The last time MI won a match at this venue was in 2014.
In IPL history, this stands as the biggest defeat of GT in terms of runs. this win, MI made a strong comeback in the league and moved to 7th position with 4 points, while GT are at 6th position with 6 points. MI will face Chennai Super Kings on April 23, and GT will take on Royal Challengers Bangalore on April 24.
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