Sri Lankan wicketkeeper-batsman Kusal Mendis, who was included in Gujarat Titans’ playing XI as a replacement in the Eliminator against Mumbai Indians, made history on his debut by becoming the first player in IPL Playoffs history to be dismissed by a hit wicket.
Mendis was brought in as a replacement for Jos Buttler and will play in the IPL 2025 finals. In his debut, the right-handed batter seemed in fantastic form, scoring 20 off just 10 balls, including a four and two sixes. Mendis, along with B Sai Sudharsan, who was in fine form, helped GT recover from Shubman Gill’s early loss to Trent Boult in the first over, as GT chased Mumbai’s 229-run goal.
However, in the chase’s seventh over, Mendis attempted to pull a length ball from Mitchell Santner but lost control of his feet. As he moved back, his back foot slipped and smacked the stumps. Notably, it was Santner’s seventh T20 wicket of Mendis.
Watch video of Kusal Mendis’ hit-wicket here
What happened there? 🤔
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Earlier in the game, the Mumbai Indians produced a total of 228 for 5, the second-highest score in IPL playoff history. MI’s new opening tandem of Jonny Bairstow and Rohit Sharma put up a crucial 84-run stand. Bairstow, who replaced Ryan Rickelton, smashed 47 from 22 deliveries, while Rohit, after two early lifelines, finished with an incredible 81 off 50.
Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, and Hardik Pandya all had important cameo appearances. MI hit 17 sixes in the innings, which is the joint third most in any match this season. Hardik’s late heroics, including three sixes off Gerald Coetzee in the penultimate over, propelled MI to 225 runs.
Chasing 229, GT began well, despite losing their skipper in the first over. Mendis and Sudharsan tried to counterattack, taking GT to 67/1 in 6.2 overs. Sudharsan brought up his half-century off 28 balls. But the stumper-batter’s dismissal once again broke the momentum, putting the side on the back foot. After 11 overs, GT’s scorecard read 119/2, with 110 runs required in 54 balls.
