[Watch] MI players celebrate as they qualify for IPL 2023 playoffs after GT eliminate RCB

Five-time Champions Mumbai Indians (MI) players celebrated in style as they qualified for the IPL 2023 playoffs on Sunday (May 21).

MI beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by eight wickets in a must-win game at the Wankhede. Mumbai’s playoff berth, though, was only confirmed after defending champions and table-toppers Gujarat Titans beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by six wickets. That came courtesy of a century from Shubman Gill after Virat Kohli’s ton had propelled RCB to 197-5.

Soon after Gill hit the match-winning six to guide GT over the finish line and complete his second consecutive IPL ton, MI players, who were glued to the TV screens, started to celebrate.

Vishnu Vinod shared a clip of a behind-the-scenes video as his Instagram story, which was later reshared by the team's handle and Twitter users.

Watch MI's celebrations below:

As far as the points table is concerned, Mumbai finished fourth with 16 points in 14 games. GT, meanwhile, finished as the table-toppers with 20 points, having registered 10 wins in 14 games.

Chennai Super Kings and Lucknow Super Giants qualified with 17 points apiece. The Super Kings finished second because of a slightly better net run rate.

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MI to play LSG in Eliminator

Mumbai Indians will now play the Eliminator against third-placed Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Wednesday (May 24).

MI will look to avenge their five-wicket loss against the Super Giants suffered in the group stage earlier this season. A win will take Mumbai to Qualifier 2.

GT, meanwhile, lock horns with four-time champions CSK in Qualifier 1 at the aforementioned venue on Tuesday (May 23). The winner will directly book their place in the IPL 2023 final. The losing team will progress to Qualifier 2.

The Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad will host the Qualifier 2 and the final, scheduled for May 26 and 28, respectively.