This is only the second win in six matches for the five-time winners. MI are not playing their best cricket yet, but who is to know if this may lead to a resurgence.

It’s a script that has played out a few times before.

MI were meandering at 103/4 after 14 overs and needed to shift gears quickly. Tilak Varma was on 19 off 22 balls. He had to go big. And he did. In the 15th over, Prasidh Krishna fluffed his lengths and went full, which Varma fully capitalised on. It was a 19-run over.

Tilak takes down Ashok

At the business end of the innings, Varma was forceful. His battle with Ashok Sharma in the 18th over was pure anticipation. It was as if he was reading the bowler’s mind.

No matter how fast Ashok bowled, the ball travelled. Varma began signalling his intentions by cutting the fast bowler for a six to bring up his fifty. Now, it was time to double down on intent. Ashok’s field suggested he would bowl short next. Varma was able to quickly get in position and scoop him over short fine leg for four. A straighter ball next and Varma was ready to stand up tall and deposit it over mid-off. A slower ball followed and Varma sent it away to the stands over mid-wicket. Ashok had lost all his rhythm by now and a slot ball was sent packing for another maximum.

It was a 26-run over and MI were now aiming for 200.

Varma had targeted Krishna earlier and he faced the 20th over also from the pacer. He repeated the dose to make it a 22-run over. With a six on one leg followed by a four over square leg off the last ball Varma brought up his maiden IPL hundred in 45 balls. In one of the most stunning batting accelerations, Varma’s last 82 runs came off 23 balls.

In the final six overs, MI amassed 96 runs. On another day, MI’s go-slow approach in the middle overs would have hurt them badly. Not on this occasion.

After four losses in a row, perhaps they were due for some swing in fortune, and Varma rode the chariot of change with his whirlwind finish.

Chasing 200, GT wilted under the pressure of the scoreboard once they lost their consistent top three batters for the first time inside the Powerplay. On a perfect day for MI, one of the three wickets to fall came on the first ball bowled by Jasprit Bumrah, ending his wicketless spell over six IPL matches.

Left-arm pacer Ashwani Kumar was particularly impressive with figures of 4-0-24-4.

Earlier, Mohammed Siraj and Kagiso Rabada had started brightly with the ball for GT.

While the former kept the batters honest, Rabada (3/33) got among the wickets—fast and furious. Each of Rabada’s wickets rivalled the other for aesthetics. MI debutant Danish Malewar (2) became a text book lbw candidate. Quinton de Kock (13) was done in by a short ball. And Suryakumar Yadav (15) had his furniture disturbed with a full-length delivery.