Kusal Mendis Hit Wicket vs MI: Brought in as a temporary replacement by the Gujarat Titans (GT), Sri Lanka’s Kusal Mendis had a nightmarish time in his maiden IPL match when he turned up against the Mumbai Indians (MI) in the Eliminator, MI vs GT, of IPL 2025.
Gujarat and Mumbai, the third and fourth-placed teams, respectively, in the league stage points table, clashed in an exciting encounter in the Eliminator on Friday evening in Mullanpur, Chandigarh.
While the PBKS vs RCB Qualifier 1 on Thursday was a low-scoring affair played on a spicy pitch that offered seam movement and inconsistent bounce, the MI vs GT Eliminator took place on a fast, flat, batting-friendly surface on which MI piled up 228 runs, and GT are up and running in their chase as well.
Both teams had to make multiple changes in their line-ups, as some of their overseas players had to leave the tournament after the league stage to join their national teams. One of them was England’s Jos Buttler, who is currently participating in the England vs West Indies ODI series at home.
GT had already roped in Sri Lankan keeper-batsman Kusal Mendis to fill Buttler’s gap. Playing his maiden IPL games, Mendis, though, seemed out of his depth on his IPL debut as he dropped two catches, and while he whacked 20 runs off 10 balls, clattering two sixes and a four, he couldn’t carry on with his innings as he got out hit wicket to Mitchell Santner, a rare mode of dismissal at the top level.
Santner bowled a flatter delivery, to which Mendis attempted to play a sweep shot on the back foot. However, Mendis’s back leg stretched too far, and he stepped onto the base of the stumps. As he completed his stroke, Mendis fell on the ground while observing the dismal mess that he had created of the stumps with two sticks lying flat on the ground.
Mendis walked back to the dressing room dejectedly, while the MI players celebrated a wicket in an unexpected form.
Video: Kusal Mendis Hit Wicket vs MI
At the time of writing, GT are 106/2 after 10 overs, and the chase is well and truly alive.
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