Mullanpur: The behaviour of captains Shubman Gill and Hardik Pandya during the Mumbai Indians-Gujarat Titans Eliminator match in the Indian Premier League 2025 on Friday had given rise to various rumours on social media. The rumours that the two were in a rift were strengthened when the footage of the two reluctantly shaking hands during the match and Hardik wildly celebrating Gill's wicket emerged.
After the toss, Hardik and Gill walked away without shaking hands. When Gill tried to move away from Pandya, Hardik raised his hand to shake his hand. But he also quickly backed away. When Gill's wicket fell in the match, Hardik was also noticed running next to Gill and expressing great joy. The videos of this have gone viral on social media. After that, discussions heated up, and there was a dispute between the two. While Mumbai qualified for the second qualifier with a 20-run win in the match, Gujarat was eliminated from the IPL.
Meanwhile, Gill himself came forward to respond to the rumours. He wrote on social media that there is only love between them and nothing else.
“Nothing but love (don't believe everything you see on the internet),” Gill wrote. He also posted a picture with Hardik. Gill did not forget to tag Hardik in the post, either.
Batting first, Hardik and his team scored 228 runs for the loss of five wickets in 20 overs on Friday. Gujarat's chase ended at 208 for six wickets in 20 overs. Opener Rohit Sharma scored 81 runs off 50 balls to become Mumbai's top scorer. Co-opener Jonny Bairstow also shone with 47 runs off 22 balls. Suryakumar Yadav (33 off 20 balls), Tilak Verma (25 off 11 balls) and Hardik (22 off nine balls) added to the score to cross 200. The batting of opener Sai Sudarshan, who scored 80 runs off 49 balls, and Washington Sundar, who scored 48 runs off 24 balls, gave Gujarat hope, but things went downhill when both of them got out. Sherfane Rutherford (24 off 15 balls) and Kusal Mendis (20 off 10 balls) struggled, but Mumbai's bowlers took control. Trent Boult took two wickets, while Jasprit Bumrah, Richard Gleeson and Mitchell Santner took one wicket each.
The second qualifier between Punjab and Mumbai will be held in Ahmedabad on Sunday. The winner of this will face Royal Challengers Bangalore in the final on June 3.