In the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026‘s Match 30 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Monday, the Mumbai Indians defeated Gujarat Titans by 99 runs thanks to Ashwani Kumar, a fast bowler who grabbed four wickets and Tilak Verma for his first century off 45 balls.

As the five-time champions jumped to seventh place in the standings, the Mumbai Indians’ Net Run Rate was greatly improved by the victory.

Five-time winners Gujarat Titans were bowled out for only 100 runs in 15. 5 overs when Ashwani Kumar took 4-24 as they were chasing 200 runs. Earlier in the day, Tilak Varma, the winner of India’s T20 World Cup, brought the Mumbai Indians to a score of 199/5 in 20 overs after a shaky start brought about by Kagiso Rabada’s three Power-play wickets by blasting his first century off 45 balls.

The Gujarat Titans, who were attempting a tough score of 200, got off to a terrible start when they lost a wicket on the first ball. Jasprit Bumrah took his first wicket of the IPL 2026 season by instantly dismissing Sai Sudarshan.

When captain Hardik Pandya dismissed Jos Buttler in the following over, the pressure persisted. Even though the in-form batter chose to have the lbw ruling reviewed, the umpire maintained his decision. However, GT was in early difficulty when Buttler only managed 5 runs off 6 pitches.

Following the twin setback, Sundar and captain Shubman Gill attempted to restore the innings with a counterattack. In four overs, the pair hit five boundaries in a flash, bringing the score to 35/2 and briefly changing the momentum.

Young pacer Ashwani Kumar, however, struck to dismiss Gill for 14 off 13 balls, just as the Gujarat Titans appeared to be settling their innings. In the chase, the Gujarat Titans were still under pressure when the Power-play ended at 45/3, with three wickets down.

Following the power-play, the Mumbai Indians’ bowlers maintained their dominance. With a tight over before Mitchell Santner delivered a decisive double blow in the eighth over, Allah Ghazanfar applied pressure. He first dismissed Sundar for a quick 26 off 17 balls before taking out Glenn Phillips with a brilliant slower ball, leaving GT in trouble at 56/5.

As the match was slipping away, Shahrukh Khan and Rahul Tewatia attempted to stabilize the situation with a partnership based on singles and doubles. But the necessary run rate kept increasing, which put more pressure on the situation.

Tewatia was out for 8 off 11 balls when Quinton de Kock caught him behind the stand in the 11th over after he edged a delivery from Ashwani. Rashid Khan was caught for four in Ashwani’s next over as he continued his outstanding performance. By taking Shahrukh Khan’s wicket, who fell while trying a big shot, he finished a magnificent four-wicket haul.

In the 16th over, Ghazanfar finished the innings by taking two consecutive wickets of Rabada and Mohammed Siraj, completing a dominating bowling display.

Ashwani Kumar, the Mumbai Indians’ best bowler, had great statistics of 4-24. The Mumbai Indians controlled the chase from beginning to end, with Bumrah and Pandya contributing one wicket each, while Santner and Ghazanfar each took two wickets to provide great support.

I got off to a poor start after being asked to bat. The opening duo of Quinton de Kock and Danish Malewar were unable to get things rolling. Kagiso Rabada dismissed Malewar early for two runs, and de Kock followed shortly after with 13.

Rabada maintained his strong spell, but Naman Dhir made an effort to counter with some boundaries. He took his third wicket by dismissing Suryakumar Yadav for 15, putting MI in a difficult position with a score of 46/3 during the powerplay.

Tilak Varma and Dhir rebuilt the innings with a steady partnership after the initial setbacks. At the midway point, they had MI at 75/3 after effectively rotating the strike and penalizing errant pitches. Prasidh Krishna broke their 52-run partnership by removing Dhir for a well-executed 45 off 32 pitches.

Then, in the last few overs, Tilak changed his approach. He started off slowly, but then he began to pound the bowlers, hitting massive blows all over the place. After 33 balls, he turned fifty and continued to pick up speed.

Tilak completed his first IPL century in just 45 balls, completely taking over the bowling attack during the death overs. With eight fours and seven sixes, he led the Mumbai Indians to a formidable score of 199/5 while remaining undefeated at 101.

Rabada’s numbers of 3/33 made him the standout bowler for the Gujarat Titans. Prasidh Krishna and Mohammad Siraj each took one wicket.

Brief scores:
Mumbai Indians 199/5 in 20 overs (Tilak Varma 101*, Naman Dhir 45; Kagiso Rabada 3-33, Mohammed Siraj 1-25)
Gujarat Titans 100 all out in 15.5 overs (Washington Sundar 26, Shahrukh Khan 17; Ashwani Kumar 4-24, Mitchell Santner 2-16)