Under pressure and facing mounting criticism over his recent form, Rohit Sharma delivered a timely reminder of his class with a superb half-century in the high-stakes IPL 2025 Eliminator between Mumbai Indians and Gujarat Titans at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur, New Chandigarh.

Coming into the knockout clash, Rohit had endured a rough patch with the bat, managing just 7, 5, and 24 in his last three outings. The scrutiny intensified, and expectations were sky-high with MI’s campaign on the line. Rohit didn’t start fluently and looked scratchy early on. Luck, however, smiled on the veteran opener.

In the second over, he mistimed a pull off Coetzee, only for the South African pacer to spill the chance at fine leg. Just five balls later, Kusal Mendis, filling in as wicketkeeper, dropped a regulation catch behind the stumps off a thick outside edge from Rohit’s bat. Given two lives inside three overs, the former MI skipper made the Titans pay.

WATCH – Sai Sudharsan & Gerald Coetzee Combine for Spectacular Relay Catch to Dismiss Bairstow

Rohit shifted gears in the final over of the powerplay, smashing Sai Kishore for two boundaries and a towering six to shift momentum. He raced to 33 off 19 and never looked back. His fifty came up in the 10th over with a stylish four off Kishore, bringing up the landmark in just 28 balls. The milestone was met with a standing ovation from MI skipper Hardik Pandya and the franchise’s top brass.

He is in the mood tonight 😎

Rohit Sharma, the 𝐁𝐢𝐠 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫 🫡

Updates ▶ https://t.co/R4RTzjQfph #TATAIPL | #GTvMI | #Eliminator | #TheLastMile | @ImRo45 pic.twitter.com/WJsarasZuI

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 30, 2025

At the time of writing, Mumbai Indians were cruising at 188/3 in 17 overs, eyeing a massive total. Rohit, Bairstow, and Suryakumar were the wickets to fall. Bairstow impressed in his first outing of the season, blasting 47 off just 22, while SKY chipped in with a handy 33. It’s shaping up to be a big night for MI—and Rohit Sharma has made sure his bat is doing the talking.

ALSO READ: Gerald Coetzee and Kusal Mendis Let Rohit Sharma Off the Hook

Punjab Kings (Playing XI): Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh, Josh Inglis(w), Shreyas Iyer(c), Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Azmatullah Omarzai, Harpreet Brar, Arshdeep Singh, Kyle Jamieson

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (Playing XI): Virat Kohli, Philip Salt, Rajat Patidar(c), Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma(w), Romario Shepherd, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yash Dayal, Josh Hazlewood, Suyash Sharma