Vijay Deverakonda Vows To Wear MI Jersey If Tilak Varma Could Beat Him In Pickleball. Result Is...

Mumbai Indians, after a typical slow start in the IPL 2025, are firmly a front-runner to earn a place in the IPL 2025 playoffs. The Hardik Pandya-led MI have 14 points from 11 games and are currently second in the 10-team table. Middle-order batter Tilak Varma has been an important player for MI. Ahead of MI's IPL 2025 game against GT at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Tuesday, Tilak Varma indulged in a fun game of pickleball with actor Vijay Deverakonda. 

The actor even said if Tilak Varma and his partner betas Deverakonda and his partner in a 'best of three' games, he would wear a MI jersey. However, it was the actor's team which won the match 2-1.     

#MumbaiIndians #PlayLikeMumbai | @TilakV9 @TheDeverakonda pic.twitter.com/y80ZqGbJzo

Meanwhile, Tilak Varma's team Mumbai Indians have be on a winning streak, it's a tight race for the playoffs in IPL 2025. The occupants of the top spot in the standings have been constantly changing, with Delhi Capitals, Gujarat Titans, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, and Mumbai Indians taking up the top spot.

Mumbai Indians were perched at the top of the standings last week before they were pushed down by Royal Challengers Bengaluru, before Punjab Kings overtook and moved to the second position.

If MI win against GT, they can join Royal Challengers Bengaluru and wrest back the top spot on a better net run rate. Though this constant swapping of the positions may be frustrating and irritating at times, Mumbai Indians' head coach Mahela Jayawardene said he is not bothered by these constant changes in the points table.

Jayawardene said this is not something that he and his team can control as the points table will be in a constant state of churning because of the tight race for the playoff spots.

"I mean, obviously, the number of games that you're playing and how that composition works, there is always going to be change, especially with Punjab Kings having that odd number because of the rain-off game.

"So, all those things that we as a franchise can't control or I as a coach can't control, I'll just focus on the game tomorrow, and then after that, the next game, we have three good games against us, which is good for us.

"So we just want to do what we've been doing, play some good cricket. The boys are focused on that, and the rest I can't control. So, my focus would be what they might control at this point and just keep focusing on," said Jayawardene in the pre-match press conference.

With ANI inputs