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.
Kusal Mendis was brought here as a replacement for Jos Buttler and will play in the IPL 2025 finals. The right-handed batter seemed in form in his first appearance, hitting 20 off just 10 balls with two sixes and a four. As GT chased the 229-run goal set by Mumbai, Mendis and B Sai Sudharsan, who was maintaining his strong form, helped GT bounce back after Shubman Gill was lost to Trent Boult in the opening over.
However, Kusal Mendis lost control of his feet when he attempted to lift a length ball from left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner in the seventh over of the chase. His back foot slipped and struck the stumps as he retreated. Notably, it wasn’t only Santner’s fifth T20 dismissal of Mendis.
Watch video of Mendis’ hit-wicket here:
What happened there? 🤔
Updates ▶ https://t.co/R4RTzjQfph#TATAIPL | #GTvMI | #Eliminator | #TheLastMile pic.twitter.com/cjbUB9pFyN
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 30, 2025
Mumbai Indians had earlier in the game, set a score of 228 for 5 – the second highest in IPL Playoffs history. An important 84 run opening stand between MI’s new opening pair of Jonny Bairstow and Rohit Sharma. Rohit, after two early lifelines, hammered 81 off 50 while Bairstow, brought in for Ryan Rickelton, hammered 47 off just 22.
Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, and Hardik Pandya every one took important cameo appearances. MI hit 17 sixes during the innings, which is tied for third-most in any game this year. Hardik’s heroics in the closing over, which included three sixes off Gerald Coetzee, helped MI reach 225.
GT started strongly in their chase of 229 despite losing their skipper in the opening over. After a counterattack by Mendis and Sudharsan, GT reached 67/1 in 6.2 overs. After 28 balls, Sudharsan reached his half-century. However, the side was once again on the defensive after the stumper-batter was dismissed. With 110 runs needed in 54 balls, GT’s scorecard after 11 overs showed 119/2.
