Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium was never a happy hunting ground for Mumbai Indians (MI). Before the match against Gujarat Titans (GT), Hardik Pandya’s team was under immense pressure as they had to concede four defeats in a row.
When Mumbai Indians went down to face the home team, the Gujarat Titans, they were at the bottom of the points table of IPL 2026. Furthermore, Rohit Sharma was not in the playing combination due to an injury.
MI defeated GT in style in Ahmedabad
Despite all the odds, the five-time IPL winners emerged victorious against the Gujarat Titans in style. Tilak Varma was named Player of the Match for scoring a sensational century. Backed by Varma’s unbeaten knock of 101 runs off 45 balls, MI, batting first, scored 199 runs in 20 overs.
On the slow Ahmedabad surface, it was not easy to chase the total. GT batsmen’s problems gradually increased as they started losing crucial wickets from the first delivery of the second innings. Jasprit Bumrah got his first wicket of IPL 2026 by dismissing Sai Sudharshan.
Mumbai Indians’ bowling line-up fared equally well
Impact player Ashwini Kumar was outstanding; he bagged 4 wickets in 4 overs in return for just 24 runs. The overseas spinner duo of Mitchell Santner and Allah Ghazanfar claimed a double each to join the wicket-taking party. Facing MI’s ferocious bowling attack, Gujarat Titans managed just 100 runs, Mumbai Indians won the contest by a huge margin of 99 runs.
“Very important. It’s always a challenge to go out and win. But at the same time, Ahmedabad has been a very difficult thing for us as Mumbai Indians. And yes, we just played good cricket. And it feels very special because it was very necessary,” Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya said after the match.
Hardik Pandya praised centurion Tilak Varma
“You really don’t need to worry much about the kind of talent Tilak has. So the only message I kept telling him was that you’re just going to look at the ball and hit it no matter what, because I really think the kind of ball he hits with his bat is something really special.”
“It was about time I came and delivered. And yes, I think a couple of times I made so much noise that I got a little dizzy,” Hardik Pandya explained how Tilak Varma pulled off such an impressive knock under pressure.
“So yes, but it was very necessary for the group. It was very necessary for Tilak. It was very necessary for Mumbai Indians. And as a captain, that kind of energy only changes things,” added Hardik Pandya.
With the 99-run victory, Hardik Pandya’s team moved from tenth place in the ten-team league to seventh place in the points table. After playing six matches, they now have 4 points from two wins and 4 losses with an improved net run rate of +0.067.
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