In the IPL 2025 auction, Jonny Bairstow remained unsold. After Bairstow had gone for a surgery in 2022, the explosive batter somehow lost his touch. Not only did he drop out of the England squad, but his show in the IPL also left much to be desired as the franchises chose to ignore him in Jeddah with no bidder for the wicketkeeping batter during the auction.
However, destiny intervened. A nine-day delay gave the opportunity for several overseas players to pull out of IPL 2025 because of national duties. Mumbai Indians (MI) wasted no time in signing Bairstow as a replacement for South African batter Ryan Rickelton. Coincidentally, his first game would be against Gujarat Titans in the IPL 2025 Eliminator.
A not-so-easy-return was embraced with open arms by Bairstow. Partnering Rohit Sharma at the top, he started aggressively, especially targeting Prasidh Krishna: in the 4th over, he bludgeoned the bowler for three sixes and two fours. That 26-run over unleashed the momentum MI needed.
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A few missed chances in the field dropped the pressure on Gujarat, with Bairstow hammering away and Rohit being the most famous victim. So Rohit took some time to set himself while we saw that Bairstow's early fireworks had given him somewhat of a platform. By the time Bairstow fell for a blazing 47 off just 22 balls--in the 8th over--the stage was already set for a huge total from MI.
Rohit then assumed control and blasted 81 off 50 balls the best of the season. Assisting the cause were Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, and Tilak Varma, who piled on 228 for Mumbai in the Eliminator.
