Mumbai Indians, on Sunday (May 21), finally sealed their spot in the IPL 2023 playoffs. Their chances of making it to the playoffs looked as good as over after they managed only 3 wins from the first seven games of IPL 2023. The five-time champions remained in the bottom half of the points table for several weeks before turning their season around in a stunning manner.
The Rohit Sharma-led side won three of their last 4 games to seal a playoff spot. On Sunday, they were up against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Wankhede Stadium in a must-win clash. They, however, did not have their fate in their own hands. Even a win against SRH would not have been enough to make it to the next stage due to the net run rate.
The five-time champions, however, did well to win the game against SRH. A maiden century from Cameron Green helped them chase down a mammoth total of 201 in just 18 overs. Green smashed an unbeaten 100 off 48 balls with the help of 8 fours and as many sixes. The win took Mumbai Indians’ points tally to 16 points.
Mumbai Indians celebrate Royal Challengers Bangalore’s elimination:
Despite ending their league stage with 16 points, Mumbai Indians’ fate depended on the game between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Gujarat Titans. A win for Royal Challengers Bangalore would have dumped Mumbai Indians out of IPL 2023.
And as Royal Challengers Bangalore were involved in a do-or-die clash with the defending champions, the whole Mumbai Indians squad was keenly watching the proceedings at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium from their hotel. A video from the same place has now gone viral, showing Mumbai Indians players’ reaction after Shubman Gill hit the winning six for Gujarat Titans.
As soon as Gill launched the ball over long-on for a six, the Mumbai Indians players jumped up from their seats and started hugging each other while roaring as RCB’s loss confirmed their playoff spot. Riding on Virat Kohli’s century, RCB scored 197 for 5. However, an unbeaten ton from Shubman Gill helped GT chase it down in 19.1 overs.
Here is a clip of the moment:
Here's the celebrations of our Mumbai Indians boys. They depicted our reaction after today's match ?? pic.twitter.com/4tFqw4JiCG
— Mumbai Indians FC (@MIPaltanFamily) May 21, 2023
