It was definitely not a debut to remember for the Sri Lankan international, Kusal Mendis, who was asked to replace the in-form English keeper, Jos Buttler, for the playoff stages of the Indian Premier League 2025 edition. In the first eliminator clash against the Gujarat Titans at the Mullanpur Stadium in Mohali, Mendis made two big mistakes, which could prove to be costly for the franchise. Mendis was roped in as Jos Buttler’s replacement after the latter had to leave due to England’s upcoming white-ball series against the West Indies at home. In turn, the Sri Lankan was roped in for Rs 75 Lakh. He had a debut to forget in the IPL as he dropped two big chances to dismiss Rohit Sharma early into his innings. These drops proved to be costly as an Indian veteran went on to score 81 runs off 50 deliveries to push Mumbai Indians over the 200-run mark. Rohit was dropped twice during the powerplay, allowing the veteran to capitalize on the opposition’s fielding errors. First, Gerald Coetzee dropped him in the deep, and then Kusal Mendis, on his GT debut, mishandled a straightforward catch behind the stumps off Mohammed Siraj. It was Bairstow (47 off 22) who provided the Mumbai Indians with momentum in the powerplay through some superb hitting. The out-of-favor England batter, who joined the Mumbai Indians shortly after scoring consecutive fifties in county cricket for Yorkshire, took his chances early and was well rewarded. He targeted the Titans’ best pacer of the season, Prasidh Krishna, smashing him for 26 runs in the fourth over, including three sixes. The first six was a pull shot that cleared the square leg fence effortlessly, followed by a clean hit down the ground. Rohit also joined the action when spinner Sai Kishore was introduced during the powerplay. The former MI captain executed the sweep shot perfectly, collecting two fours and a massive six, bringing his team to 79 for no loss in six overs, their best powerplay of the season. The top order’s confidence rubbed off on Tilak Varma (25 off 11), who has had an off-season by his standards. He hit three sixes in quick succession before falling to Siraj. Skipper Hardik Pandya targeted Coetzee for a couple of sixes in the 20th over, pushing the total past Considering Mumbai Indians’ formidable bowling unit, the Titans have a challenging task ahead. For the third consecutive innings, the opposition team managed to score more than 225 runs against the Titans. (with PTI Inputs)