Right. 4 teams confirmed for the playoffs. But 7 matches still left for the league stage! Are those all dead rubbers? Definitely not. The top 4 teams are confirmed but the order is not confirmed yet. Any of the current top 3 - Gujarat, Bengaluru and Punjab can finish in the top 2 and with some luck, Mumbai could also find themselves in a race for the top 2, if they win their final league game as well and end with 18 points. Thursday, 22nd May, 2025, sees a clash between Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants in Ahmedabad. The table toppers will look to extend their lead at the top. The first ball will be bowled at 7.30 pm IST (1400 GMT) but our buildup will begin well in advance. It is now raining torrentially in Mumbai and we thank the rain gods for patiently waiting till this game got over! Do tune in early from a drier Ahmedabad for all the action from the GT-LSG game. ADIOS! TAKE CARE!

The champions do it again. They were in a bit of a slumber for the last 4 years, but come 2025, they have come out with a bang and have not only qualified for the playoffs, but are in good contention to go all the way as well. They play their next and last league game against Punjab Kings in Jaipur, on Monday, 26th May, 2025, but if a couple of games go their way, wherein, the top sides lose matches, MI might be in a terrific shape to finish in the top 2 as well. As far as Delhi Capitals are concerned, their season ends on a sad note, having won 5 out of their first 6 matches. They have one final game to go, also against the Punjab Kings in Jaipur, on Saturday, 24th May, 2025. They will try and end the season with 7 wins for the season.

Mumbai Indians' SURYAKUMAR YADAV HAS BEEN ADJUDGED THE PLAYER OF THE MATCH for his swashbuckling unbeaten 73 (43). On being asked as to why did he say at the innings break that he wanted to play this type of innings, Surya says that it has been 13 games now that he got this award and on the morning of the match, his wife told him that he has got all the awards except Player Of The Match this season. So, he feels that this award is really special for him, not only from the team's point of view but even personally and is really looking forward to celebrate this with his wife. On his strategy to attack, SKY says that in this game, it was really important for a single batter to bat till the end. Adds that the batters knew that there was a big over of 15-20 runs somewhere and credits Naman Dhir for coming out and sharing his vibrant energy. On the relief of making it to the playoffs with a game to go, Suryakumar Yadav says that he is absolutely happy and is looking for some good rest before MI's final league game.

The rain keeps getting heavier and we are now set to wrap the presentation up quickly. The victorious skipper of Mumbai Indians, HARDIK PANDYA, rushes in for a quick mini chat. On being asked whether it is fun captaining Jasprit Bumrah and Mitchell Santner, Hardik terms it absolutely, citing that he can throw them the ball at any time, which makes his job pretty easy. On whether the team was worried in the first innings with their score at 132/5, Pandya says that Mumbai were looking at 160 but the way Naman Dhir came out and played, it was outstanding.

... THE PRESENTATION ...

Mumbai Indians' MITCHELL SANTNER is up for a chat with the broadcasters now. Says that the wicket was slightly slow with the red soil. Adds that the more you flight on such a wicket, you get more revolutions and that's all he did. Further says that he tried to bowl stump to stump and kept it straighter. Feels that as a unit, it was a riot with the ball but it was set up by the 180 from the batters. On the team growing from strength to strength, Santner says that they have shown that in the last few games that the guys upfront can swing the ball and it is nice to have Jasprit Bumrah at the back end. Feels that in this game, Mumbai adapted pretty quickly, learning from the Delhi boys and tried to bowl more cutters. On his preference to take wickets or be economical, Mitchell says that he always loves to pick up wickets but in this game, he just stuck to bowl wicket to wicket.

The skipper of Delhi Capitals for the day, FAF DU PLESSIS, says that Delhi were excellent in the field, with the players fighting hard. Cheekily adds that it was not the easiest pitch to bat on, so the job was easier for the bowlers but admits that a little slip in the last 2 overs lost all the momentum they had garnered. Gives full marks to MI batters for counter-punching. On this particular match, missing Axar Patel and Mitchell Starc, du Plessis says that he felt it was a case of David vs Goliath but also says that he enjoys such contests. Credits Mumbai Indians for playing superbly. Admits that when you play a powerful team like this, you need your best players around and adds that the Capitals fought hard for 18 overs but post that, were pretty average. Summarizes his team's performance as inconsistent, detailing that the batting and bowling have not been consistent and to be in the top 4, they cannot afford that. Again, on the topic of missing players, Faf says that the team definitely missed Axar on a wicket like that. Calls him a similar bowler to Mitchell Santner and is a brilliant left-arm bowler. Feels unfortunate for him as Axar turned out very sick in the last two days. Adds that the team missed Starc too, but on this wicket, an extra spinner was desired. On the loss of momentum by DC in this season, FdP says that he is a big believer that you should never take the game for granted. Adds that when you play well, everything keeps falling your way. But feels that in the last few games, Delhi could not be consistent enough and let the momentum earned in the first half slip away pretty quickly.

The Mumbai Indians squad is jogging across the ground, thanking the Wankhede crowd for its support. What a phenomenal home season - 7 matches, 5 wins. After toiling hard for 4 years, they finally seem to have found their perfect combination, going from strength to strength. This game was a perfect case for them - they were put under pressure but they responded well. And these are the games you need before entering the playoffs, so that you are ready for all types of challenges. This match saw a different Suryakumar Yadav with the bat - 40 (32) at one stage, exploding to 73 (43) towards the end. They were languishing at 132/5 after 18 overs but hammered 48 in the last 2 overs. Delhi, who had done so well till that point, just got blown away by MI's might. 

Terrific bowling performance from Mumbai Indians to say the least. In hindsight, it was a good toss to lose. With so much humidity around, there was bound to be dew and there was the forecast of rain as well. But the wicket which was dished out was one which supported batting first, as it was a bit inconsistent. Cutters were the most used on this surface and MI just took a leaf out of DC's book. They hunted in a pack and even though Mitchell Santner and Jasprit Bumrah shared 3 wickets apiece, each and every bowler barring Karn Sharma put pressure on the opposition.

160 was supposed to be competitive on this deck. MI got 180 - that's 20 extra runs. Those extra runs gave enough confidence to their bowlers and put too much pressure on the Capitals. They never got going, losing wickets from the second over and the rut barely stopped. There was a brief partnership for the 6th wicket between Sameer Rizvi and Ashutosh Sharma, but that just delayed the inevitable. Even that would not have been possible, had it not been for a couple of dropped catches by Mumbai, both of Rizvi. Overall, a pretty feeble batting effort.

Third biggest win of IPL 2025, batting first. Two of those belong to MI itself. They registered the biggest win of the tournament beating RR by 100 runs in Jaipur and in this game, have pulled up their second biggest win of the season. It was really a no contest in the end but it was not so for the first 18 overs of the contest. Sad end for the Capitals from the tournament, as they are knocked out with a game to go.

Mustafizur Rahman is the last batter, replacing Kuldeep Yadav. Jasprit Bumrah is back on as well. 3-0-11-2 so far.