In a match where the rain threatened to wash away more than just overs, Sherfane Rutherford made sure his impact was anything but temporary.
Brought in as an Impact Player for Gujarat Titans, the West Indies batsman seized his moment on Tuesday with a fiery 15-ball 28 that turned the tide against Mumbai Indians and lifted Gujarat Titans back to the top of the IPL standings with a dramatic three-wicket win via the DLS method at the Wankhede Stadium.
The 26-year-old Rutherford, who has found himself in and out of the Titans’ starting XI, replaced Prasidh Krishna and delivered a knockout punch just when the game—and the points—hung in the balance. With two fours and two sixes, his short but significant knock helped the Titans chase down a revised target of 147 in a 19-over innings to end Mumbai’s six-match winning streak.
Scores: Mumbai Indians 155-8 (20 overs); Gujarat Titans 147-7 (19 overs)
After opting to bowl first, the Titans made early inroads as Mohammed Siraj and Arshad Khan removed Ryan Rickelton and Rohit Sharma inside four overs. However, Will Jacks, with 53 off 35, including five fours and three sixes, and Suryakumar Yadav rebuilt with a 71-run stand. But when Yadav fell for a 24-ball 35, which had five boundaries, Jacks followed soon after, and from there wickets tumbled, and Mumbai Indians were stalled at 155-8.
Sai Kishore led the Titans' bowling efforts with 2-34.
The reply from the Titans was steered by a solid 72-run second-wicket stand between captain Shubman Gill (43) and Jos Buttler (30), after Sai Sudharsan (five) was caught off Trent Boult with six runs on the board. Buttler struck three fours and a six in a 27-ball knock, while Gill also had three fours and a six in his 46-ball innings.
When Buttler was caught behind off Ashwani Kumar, Rutherford came to the middle and kept the momentum going as he dominated a 35-run stand with Gill, who was later bowled by Jasprit Bumrah. Rutherford's blitz added just enough acceleration before his dismissal to Boult left the Titans at 115-4.
Even then, the drama was far from over as wickets tumbled and tension rose. In the space of two breaks, Mumbai Indians clawed their way back as they snatched three for 31 to shrink the Titans' DLS advantage.
But Rahul Tewatia, with an unbeaten 11 off eight balls, and Gerald Coetzee, with a six-ball 12, brought the equation down to one run off the final ball. Coetzee fell to Deepak Chahar on the penultimate ball, and the Titans then scrambled a single on the final delivery to seal the win.
With the win, Gujarat Titans now sit level on 16 points with Royal Challengers Bangalore at the top of the table, while Mumbai Indians remain fourth on 14 points.