Tilak Varma delivered a spectacular 45-ball century as Mumbai Indians (MI) demolished Gujarat Titans (GT) by 99 runs in their IPL 2026 encounter in Ahmedabad on Monday. After being asked to bat first, MI stumbled early, losing three wickets during the powerplay with Kagiso Rabada wreaking havoc, but bounced back strongly through Tilak and Naman Dhir (45). Chasing the target, GT collapsed dramatically, managing only 100 runs in 15.5 overs. Jasprit Bumrah claimed his first wicket of the season while pacer Ashwani Kumar grabbed four wickets, as Shubman Gill struggled with a disappointing batting performance. This victory allows MI to break their four-match losing run and climb off the bottom of the standings. Tilak’s Century and Ashwin’s Bowling Secure Victory Over Gujarat Titans .
TOSS-
Gujarat Titans won the toss and elected to bowl first
PLAYING XI –
Gujarat Titans (Playing XI):
Shubman Gill(c), Sai Sudharsan, Jos Buttler(w), Washington Sundar, Glenn Phillips, Shahrukh Khan, Rashid Khan, Mohammed Siraj, Kagiso Rabada, Prasidh Krishna, Ashok Sharma
Mumbai Indians (Playing XI):
Danish Malewar, Quinton de Kock(w), Naman Dhir, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya(c), Tilak Varma, Sherfane Rutherford, Mitchell Santner, Krish Bhagat, Jasprit Bumrah, AM Ghazanfar
MUMBAI INDIANS-
Mumbai Indians encountered yet another challenging pitch in Ahmedabad, with Shubman Gill opting to field first. The early setback came through Kagiso Rabada’s devastating powerplay performance, clocking his quickest delivery at 152.1 kph – though he seemed to hint at potential speed measurement errors. The quality remained unquestionable. He dismissed newcomer Danish Malewar with a perfect LBW appeal, caught Quinton de Kock off a mistimed pull shot, and then bowled Suryakumar Yadav with an outstanding inswinger that destroyed two stumps. MI found themselves at 46 for 3 after six overs, their troubles seemingly endless.
Naman Dhir proved to be the savior. Positioned at number three, he maintained the momentum while steadying the innings. He hammered two boundaries off Ashok Sharma during the seventh over, then attacked Washington Sundar for a six and four in the eleventh. Krishna dismissed him in the thirteenth over, but his crucial 45 from 32 deliveries provided Tilak Varma the necessary time to find his rhythm.
When Dhir departed in the thirteenth over, Tilak stood at 16 from 18 balls. He gradually moved to 19 from 22 when Ashok Sharma’s economical 14th over left MI at 103 for 4. The Strategic Time Out arrived, and something magical happened during that break.
He launched an assault on Prasidh, scoring 19 runs in one over to kickstart the acceleration, though Rabada struck back with a tight four-run over to finish with figures of 3 for 33. Tilak then hammered Rashid Khan for six and carved away the compensatory short delivery for four.
Ashok’s following over witnessed complete destruction: Tilak smacked a short ball over point for six, reverse-scooped the next over fine leg for four, lifted one over mid-off, and heaved another beyond midwicket, scoring 6,4,4,6,6 to surge from 49 to 75 in just five deliveries. He then demolished Prasidh once more in a 22-run final over, reaching his first IPL century in merely 45 balls. After managing 19 from his opening 22 balls, he hammered 82 from the following 23. Mumbai Indians accumulated 77 runs in the final five overs to reach 199.
GUJARAT TITANS-
Bumrah’s previous IPL wicket had arrived 147 balls earlier, coincidentally also against Gujarat Titans in last year’s Eliminator. Following six matches without success, he struck with his opening delivery after receiving the new ball. He generated excellent movement away from left-hander Sai Sudharsan, who offered a simple catch to cover.
The floodgates opened immediately. Hardik Pandya trapped Jos Buttler leg-before, and when Shubman Gill picked out the deep fielder on the leg-side off Ashwani Kumar’s bowling, GT’s fate was sealed. Mitchell Santner dismissed both Washington Sundar and Glenn Phillips in his opening over, reducing the Titans to 55 for 5, a deficit they never recovered from. Ashwani then dismantled the tail-enders to complete the demolition and secure MI’s maiden victory in Ahmedabad against GT.
Brief scores:
Mumbai Indians 199/5 in 20 overs [Tilak Varma 101* (45), Naman Dhir 45 (32); Kagiso Rabada 3-33, Mohammed Siraj 1-25] defeated Gujarat Titans 100 in 15.5 overs [Ashwani Kumar 4-24, Mitchell Santner 2-16] by 99 runs
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