It’s Shubman Gill’s Gujarat Titans taking on Hardik Pandya’s Mumbai Indians in the all-important Eliminator of the 2025 Indian Premier League season at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium on May 30.
For the game, here are our preview and predictions.
Indian Premier League 2025 | Eliminator: Gujarat Titans vs Mumbai Indians | 19:30 IST, May 30
The Titans will be kicking themselves for not securing a top-two finish after leading the league phase for the majority of the season. Consecutive defeats in their final two league fixtures saw them slip to third in the overall standings, leaving them in a do-or-die tie against the five-time IPL champions.
While Kagiso Rabada has had a season to forget—with his suspension disrupting his rhythm—it’s Jos Buttler who’ll be missed most by GT in these knockout rounds, having left the camp due to international commitments. The team have relied heavily on their top three batters throughout the season. After Sai Sudharsan (679) and Gill (649), Buttler is their third-highest run-scorer with 538 runs. Only two other GT batters have scored more than 100 runs this season.
GT have brought in Sri Lankan wicketkeeper-batter Kusal Mendis as Buttler’s replacement. The 30-year-old has been in fine form since the turn of the year, with a century against Australia in ODIs and 143 runs in five innings in the Pakistan Super League at a strike rate of 168.24. However, regardless of his recent form, Mendis has some big shoes to fill heading into this crucial match.
In the bowling department, Prasidh Krishna has been the standout performer for GT throughout the season with 23 wickets, while both Mohammed Siraj (15) and Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore (17) have also played solid supporting roles. Rashid Khan’s form, however, remains a cause for concern.
On the other hand, the Mumbai Indians will feel they missed a trick against the Punjab Kings. A win would have guaranteed them a top-two finish, but they were thoroughly outplayed with both bat and ball. A worrying stat for the MI fan base is that they’ve never won the IPL after finishing outside the top two.
Apart from their defeat against PBKS, MI have been on a roll, having won six of their last eight games. That said, international commitments mean they’ll have to field a very different playing XI in the playoffs. Jonny Bairstow will probably walk into the playing XI alongside Rohit Sharma at the top of the order as Ryan Rickelton’s replacement, with Charith Asalanka and Richard Gleeson replacing Will Jacks and Corbin Bosch, respectively.
With the bat, apart from Suryakumar Yadav (640 runs), no other MI batter has crossed the 400-run mark, with Rickelton being the closest on 388. Sharma has delivered, but sporadically—and the same goes for Tilak Varma and Hardik Pandya. In Jacks’ absence, MI may push Varma up to No. 3, with Asalanka slotting in at No. 5.
The best news for MI is that their bowling attack remains unchanged. Jasprit Bumrah, breathing fire at the moment, will be vital in removing the opposition openers.
Looking ahead to this game, both GT and MI have lost key players coming into the playoffs. Both sides have equally strong bowling lineups, but MI have more depth in their batting setup to navigate through the personnel changes, while the loss of Jos Buttler is worrisome in the GT camp, especially considering how fragile their middle and lower orders are.
We’re backing the Mumbai Indians to win the IPL 2025 Eliminator and play Qualifier 2 on June 1.
Fantasy XI: Kusal Mendis, Sai Sudharsan (vc), Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Mitchell Santner, Trent Boult, Prasidh Krishna, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore
Venue: Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, Mullanpur
Winners Prediction: Mumbai Indians
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