IPL 2026: Tilak's Century Guides Mumbai Indian's Return To Winning Ways

Ahmedabad: Mumbai Indians returned to winning ways after losing four matches in a row in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 with a 99-run triumph against Gujarat Titans on Monday, April 20, at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad. With the victory, MI jumped to the seventh position with four points and a net run rate of +0.067. Tilak Varma regained form with a magnificent maiden century in the Indian Premier League while Ashwani Kumar picked four wickets.

Chasing a target of 200 runs, GT never looked in control and lost wickets at regular intervals. The batting unit mostly relies on the top three, and none of the Shubman Gill, Sai Sudarsan and Jos Buttler fired with the bat. Washington Sundar was the highest run-scorer in the innings that saw six batters being dismissed in single digits. The team was eventually bundled out on 100, registering their second-lowest total in the IPL.

Ashwani Kumar, who was playing the first match of the season, was the pick of the bowlers with four wickets, while Allah Ghazanfar and Mitchell Santner picked two wickets each.

Earlier in the match, GT invited MI to bat first after winning the toss. Tilak Varma played a heroic knock of an unbeaten 101 runs from 45 deliveries, laced with eight boundaries and seven sixes. He had scored only 19 runs from 22 balls at one point, but the left-handed batter switched gears after that to equal Sanath Jayasuriya's record fastest hundred for MI, achieving the milestone in just 45 deliveries.

Fastest hundreds for MI in IPL (by balls)
45 - Sanath Jayasuriya vs CSK, Wankhede, 2008
45 - Tilak Varma vs GT, Ahmedabad, 2026
47 - Cameron Green vs SRH, Wankhede, 2023
49 - Suryakumar vs GT, Wankhede, 2023

Naman Dhir also made a crucial contribution of 45 runs from 32 deliveries to help the team post a challenging total. His partnership with Tilak turned out to be decisive as it set the wheels in motion and increased the tempo of the innings.

Brief scores: Mumbai Indians: 199/5 in 20 overs (Tilak Varma not out 101, Naman Dhir 45; Kagiso Rabada 3/33, Mohammed Siraj 1/25).

Gujarat Titans: 100 all out in 15.5 overs (Washington Sundar 26; Ashwani Kumar 4/24, Mitchell Santner 2/16).