Is Kusal Mendis playing today's GT vs MI IPL 2025 Eliminator match?

Sri Lanka batter Kusal Mendis was included in the Gujarat Titans (GT) playing XI for the IPL 2025 Eliminator match against Mumbai Indians (MI) in Mullanpur on Friday, May 30. The 30-year-old was roped in as a temporary replacement for Jos Buttler, who missed out on the playoffs due to England's white-ball series against West Indies.

Mendis has played 172 T20 matches and scored 4718 runs at a strike rate of 137.43. He has also made two hundreds, with a highest score of 105 not out.

GT aim to stay in hunt for IPL 2025 final with win over MI in Eliminator

After dominating large phases of the IPL 2025 group stages, Gujarat Titans suffered a minor blip, suffering consecutive losses to Lucknow Super Giants and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at home. It meant that instead of playing Qualifier 1, they had to face the Mumbai Indians (MI) in the Eliminator.

GT finished the league phase third on the points table with 18 points in 14 matches. This will be the third time in four seasons, since debuting in 2022, that GT will play in the IPL playoffs. In 2022, they went on to win the title at home and in 2023, they lost to CSK in a dramatic final in Ahmedabad.

They missed out in 2024, when they finished eighth on the points table. It was also Shubman Gill's first season as GT captain after Hardik Pandya dramatically shifted franchises to play and captain the Mumbai Indians.

Gill has had a far better second season as GT skipper, both with tactics and with the bat. He is the second leading run-getter in IPL 2025, with 649 runs in 14 matches.

The winner in the eliminator on Friday will take on Punjab Kings in the second qualifier on Sunday, June 1. The winner of that match will face Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the final on Tuesday, June 3.

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