<p>Mullanpur: Mumbai Indians brought all their batting might to the fore in the do-or-die Eliminator clash to leave a butter-fingered Gujarat Titans gasping for breath and staring at a Herculean chase here on Friday.</p>.<p>Former captain Rohit Sharma, enjoying a charmed life after being put down twice on 3 and 12, made the most of his luck with a cracking 81 off 50 balls while Jonny Bairstow (47, 22b) and Suryakumar Yadav (33, 20b), who also was dropped once, ensured GT paid dearly for those costly errors as Mumbai raked up a highly competitive 228/5 in 20 overs at the new PCA Stadium.</p>.<p>Mumbai, who have strangely been bossed by Gujarat in the seven meetings between them with the five-time champions having won just twice, seemed determined not just to correct that anomaly but punch their ticket to Qualifier 2.</p>.<p>The 35-year-old Bairstow, coming in place of Ryan Rickelton who is out on national duty, despite sitting at home in England for the better part of the league showed none of his big-hitting prowess is on the wane. The stocky veteran, one of the most dangerous batters in world cricket at the peak of his powers, just took off from the word go, smashing the third ball he faced for a boundary. There was no getting a feel of the ball or conditions as he kept hammering boundaries at will to leave GT pacers Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna scratching their heads.</p>.<p>Having watched all the mayhem unfold from the other end, Rohit too decided to switch gears from the fifth over as runs came at the rate of knots for Mumbai. They raced away to 79/0 at the end of six-over Power Play, the third highest score in that period in a playoff game. </p>.<p>GT skipper Shubman Gill was then forced to bring on spinners Rashid Khan and Sai Kishore, hoping the slower pace would make shotmaking difficult for Bairstow and Rohit. The bowling change gave GT some breather when Kishore dismissed Bairstow in the eighth over but it was only momentary as Rohit and Suryakumar, both excellent players of spin, took the attack on to ensure the momentum wasn’t lost.</p>.<p>Rohit, whose form has not been consistent enough this season, too looked like the batter of the old. The pulls, the audacious drive over cover, the sweeps off spinners, the Mumbaikar simply looked a class above.</p>.<p>Suryakumar, the leading run-getter for MI this season, was also in his elements as he never allowed any bowler to settle into any sort of rhythm. With runs once again coming at a fast clip, GT looked in danger of conceding in the vicinity of 250 with the three dropped catches not helping their cause either.</p>.<p>Suryakumar and Rohit departed against the run of play, purely perishing in attempting the big shots. But with the foundation laid strongly for the others to come and have a slog, MI upped the ante towards the death to leave themselves with a great chance of advancing to Qualifier 2.</p>
<p>Mullanpur: Mumbai Indians brought all their batting might to the fore in the do-or-die Eliminator clash to leave a butter-fingered Gujarat Titans gasping for breath and staring at a Herculean chase here on Friday.</p>.<p>Former captain Rohit Sharma, enjoying a charmed life after being put down twice on 3 and 12, made the most of his luck with a cracking 81 off 50 balls while Jonny Bairstow (47, 22b) and Suryakumar Yadav (33, 20b), who also was dropped once, ensured GT paid dearly for those costly errors as Mumbai raked up a highly competitive 228/5 in 20 overs at the new PCA Stadium.</p>.<p>Mumbai, who have strangely been bossed by Gujarat in the seven meetings between them with the five-time champions having won just twice, seemed determined not just to correct that anomaly but punch their ticket to Qualifier 2.</p>.<p>The 35-year-old Bairstow, coming in place of Ryan Rickelton who is out on national duty, despite sitting at home in England for the better part of the league showed none of his big-hitting prowess is on the wane. The stocky veteran, one of the most dangerous batters in world cricket at the peak of his powers, just took off from the word go, smashing the third ball he faced for a boundary. There was no getting a feel of the ball or conditions as he kept hammering boundaries at will to leave GT pacers Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna scratching their heads.</p>.<p>Having watched all the mayhem unfold from the other end, Rohit too decided to switch gears from the fifth over as runs came at the rate of knots for Mumbai. They raced away to 79/0 at the end of six-over Power Play, the third highest score in that period in a playoff game. </p>.<p>GT skipper Shubman Gill was then forced to bring on spinners Rashid Khan and Sai Kishore, hoping the slower pace would make shotmaking difficult for Bairstow and Rohit. The bowling change gave GT some breather when Kishore dismissed Bairstow in the eighth over but it was only momentary as Rohit and Suryakumar, both excellent players of spin, took the attack on to ensure the momentum wasn’t lost.</p>.<p>Rohit, whose form has not been consistent enough this season, too looked like the batter of the old. The pulls, the audacious drive over cover, the sweeps off spinners, the Mumbaikar simply looked a class above.</p>.<p>Suryakumar, the leading run-getter for MI this season, was also in his elements as he never allowed any bowler to settle into any sort of rhythm. With runs once again coming at a fast clip, GT looked in danger of conceding in the vicinity of 250 with the three dropped catches not helping their cause either.</p>.<p>Suryakumar and Rohit departed against the run of play, purely perishing in attempting the big shots. But with the foundation laid strongly for the others to come and have a slog, MI upped the ante towards the death to leave themselves with a great chance of advancing to Qualifier 2.</p>