Sunil Gavaskar criticised Mumbai Indians after a costly fielding error led to four extra runs during their defeat against Gujarat Titans.
Mumbai Indians (MI) came under fire from batting legend Sunil Gavaskar after a fielding lapse cost them crucial runs in their IPL 2025 match against Gujarat Titans (GT) in Ahmedabad on Saturday evening. MI suffered their second consecutive defeat, slipping to the bottom of the points table after failing to chase down a 197-run target.
The incident occurred during the fifth over when Deepak Chahar delivered a short ball to Sai Sudharsan, who nudged it to the deep square leg region and jogged for a single. Naman Dhir, stationed in the deep, saw a run-out opportunity and aimed for a direct hit from a distance. However, the throw missed the stumps, and with no one backing up, the ball raced away for four overthrows.
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Despite a desperate dive from MI captain Hardik Pandya, the ball went past him, adding unnecessary runs to GT’s total. Deepak Chahar was visibly frustrated by the lack of support in the field.
“That’s absolutely terrible cricket. No wonder Deepak Chahar is not amused because it has (the five runs) gone down against his name!” Gavaskar remarked on air. Eoin Morgan, Gavaskar’s fellow commentator, echoed similar sentiments, calling it “sloppy stuff.”
After the match, Hardik Pandya admitted that the team’s lack of professionalism in the field contributed to the 36-run defeat. “We were not professional in the field. We made basic errors and that cost us 20-25 runs and in a T20 game that is quite a lot,” Pandya said during the post-match presentation.
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Batting first, Gujarat Titans posted a competitive 196/8, thanks to a half-century from Sai Sudharsan. In response, MI’s powerful batting lineup, featuring Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, and Hardik Pandya, struggled to chase down the target and managed only 160/6.
Pandya acknowledged the strong performance of GT’s batters, particularly Sudharsan and Shubman Gill, who laid a solid foundation with their partnership. “They (GT) were quite exceptional, they didn’t take many chances, they did the right stuff, they were able to get runs without playing many risky shots. We were doing catch-up since then. At the moment we all need to take responsibility, it’s still early stages. Batters have to come to the party, hopefully they do that soon,” he added.
MI will aim to end their winless streak when they take on defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Monday.
