After Jasprit Bumrah’s figures of 1-27 played a key role in Mumbai Indians (MI) beating Gujarat Titans (GT) by 20 runs in the IPL 2025 Eliminator, former South Africa batter AB de Villiers said a game of cricket isn’t over until the fast-bowling spearhead completes his quota of overs, a line which he also said to his son. In MI’s defence of 228/5 in New Chandigarh on Friday evening, Bumrah’s economy rate was just 6.75 – with his pin-point leg-stump yorker flooring Washington Sundar, and ending his 84-run fourth-wicket stand with B Sai Sudharsan proving to be the turning point of the match.From there, MI restricted GT to 208/6 and set up a meeting with Punjab Kings in Qualifier 2, to be held at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday. The winner of Qualifier 2 will meet Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the title clash in Ahmedabad on June 3.
“The players known for stepping up in knockouts faced their fears and delivered. No one gave GT a chance at the halfway mark, but MI held their nerve – especially Jasprit Bumrah, who just keeps delivering in the big moments.”
“Credit to Hardik for holding Bumrah back until the right time. Sai had been playing him well, so delaying his return was a smart move. Before Bumrah came back for his final two overs, I told my son, ‘This game isn’t over until he’s done bowling.’ Once again, he showed why he’s one of the best,” said de Villiers on JioHotstar.
He also felt Sudharsan, the tournament’s leading run-getter, falling to pacer Richard Gleeson in the 16th over became another turning point of the match. “A key turning point was Sai Sudharsan’s dismissal. He’d nailed that shot all season, but it didn’t come off when it mattered most. Everything seemed to go wrong for GT – dropped catches, hit wickets, chaotic moments – yet they still made it a contest,” concluded de Villiers.umbai Indians star pacer Jasprit Bumrah produced the perfect toe-crushing yorker to dismiss Washington Sundar during the IPL 2025 encounter against Gujarat Titans on Friday. Chasing a target of 229, Sai Sudharsan and Washington Sundar stitched together a brilliant partnership to keep GT in the game. However, Bumrah produced a moment of pure magic to dismiss Washington and potentially end the fightback. In the 14th over, Bumrah conceded just four runs and produced possibly the “ball of IPL 2025” that pitched just ahead of the batter and skidded on to the stumps. MI booked a ticket to Qualifier two against Punjab Kings (PBKS) for a shot at the Indian Premier League (IPL) final against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). Inching past GT by 20 runs in a closely contested match at Mullanpur despite a fine knock by Sai Sudharsan, Bumrah played a big role with his spell of 1/27 in four overs, putting GT under pressure.
Speaking after the match, Pandya was appreciative of the opening partnership between Jonny Bairstow, Rohit Sharma, and his bowlers and admitted that the game looked “even Stevens” at one point.”Whenever you think the game is going away, just bring him (Bumrah). When you have that, it is a luxury. It is like Mumbai housing prices – he is that expensive. I was just watching the scoreboard, and I thought if we could keep extra runs at the end, I had the bowlers to bowl it. It was important that Jassi come and bowl that over so that the margin becomes longer (the 18th over),” he concluded.”Whenever you think the game is going away, just bring him (Bumrah). When you have that, it is a luxury. It is like Mumbai housing prices – he is that expensive. I was just watching the scoreboard, and I thought if we could keep extra runs at the end, I had the bowlers to bowl it. It was important that Jassi come and bowl that over so that the margin becomes longer (the 18th over),” he concluded.
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