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A blistering maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) ton by Tilak Varma took Mumbai Indians (MI) to a strong total of 199/5 against the Gujarat Titans in the high-voltage clash at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Monday.
After a lethal opening spell from Kagiso Rabada left the five-time champions reeling, Varma's unbeaten century powered a late-innings blitz that completely shifted the momentum towards Mumbai. Sent into bat by Gujarat, the five-time champion MI endured a shaky start. Their struggles began in the second over when opener Danish Malewar was trapped LBW by Kagiso Rabada for only two runs. While MI reached 21/1 by the end of the third over, Rabada struck again, removing the previous match's centurion, Quinton de Kock, for 13. By the fifth over, the MI were reeling at 32/2. Rabada's dominance continued in the sixth over as he claimed his third victim, clean bowled Suryakumar Yadav for 15. This crucial breakthrough left Mumbai Indians at 46/3 by the end of the power play, firmly putting the five-time champions on the back foot. By the 10th over, Naman Dhir and Tilak Varma had stabilised the innings, pushing the score to 75/3. However, just as the duo began to shift the momentum, Prasidh Krishna broke the stand in the 13th over. The speedster claimed the vital wicket of Dhir, who fell for a brisk 45 off 32 deliveries--an innings punctuated by six boundaries and a six. After the end of the 16th over, Tilak Varma and skipper Hardik Pandya took their side to 126/4. Mumbai then shifted gears as Tilak Varma and Hardik Pandya launched a late-innings assault. The pair took 15 runs off Rashid Khan in the 17th over before ruthlessly dismantling Ashok Sharma for 26 runs in the 18th. This explosive surge propelled MI to 167/4, with Tilak reaching a well-earned half-century off just 33 deliveries during the mayhem. Mohammed Siraj broke the dangerous 81-run stand after he dismissed skipper Hardik Panyda for 15 runs during the 19th over as MI reached 177/5. Tilak Varma saved his most explosive hitting for the final over, plundering 22 runs off Prasidh Krishna to reach century in only 45 balls. His blistering 101--which included eight boundaries and seven massive sixes--anchored a remarkable recovery. On the bowling front, Kagiso Rabada was the standout performer for Gujarat, spearheading the attack with figures of 3/33. Mohammed Siraj remained disciplined with 1/25. Prasidh Krishna proved expensive, ending with 1/54. (ANI)
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