MI vs GT pits Hardik Pandya against his former franchise for the third time in Indian Premier League (IPL). In the first fixture between Mumbai Indians (MI) and Gujarat Titans (GT) this season, the reigning champions grabbed a crushing 55-run win. GT will confirm their place in the playoffs with a win, while MI has to win to keep their playoff hopes alive.
The match will be played at Wankhede Stadium on Friday at 7:30 PM.
Mumbai Indians
MI’s hopes lie in its batting department, which has successfully chased big scores this season. Suryakumar Kumar is in red-hot form, scoring three half-centuries in MI’s last four matches. On the other hand, Ishan Kishan gives bowlers a hard time in the powerplay. Former India U-19 batter Nehal Wadhera has been outstanding in the absence of injured Tilak Varma. Also, much is expected from Rohit Sharma, who has scored just 12 in his last five outings.
MI fans will be hoping that Jason Behrendorff will step up his game in the absence of Jofra Archer, who is ruled out for the rest of the season. The Aussie left-arm pacer took three wickets against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Tuesday. However, the franchise will rely on Piyush Chawla to provide them with breakthroughs in the crucial junctures of the game.
Gujarat Titans
At Wankhede, Shubman Gill and Wriddhiman Saha will look to rack up runs. The duo stitched together 142 runs for the opening wicket against Lucknow Super Giants. It laid a perfect platform for the rest of the batting unit consisting of Hardik Pandya, Vijay Shankar, David Miller, Abhinav Manohar, and Rahul Tewatia to post a big total.
In Mohammed Shami and Rashid Khan, GT has two brilliant players who have consistently delivered this season. The duo has taken 38 wickets between them. They have got excellent backing from Noor Ahmad and Mohit Sharma. The 18-year-old has 11 wickets in seven games. Meanwhile, Mohit has come to GT’s aid plenty of times this season.
MI vs GT Head to Head
Both teams have only met twice in IPL, and MI and GT have won a match. Shubman Gill, David Miller, Abhinav Manohar, and Noor Ahmad shone in the first fixture between both teams this season. Gill hit a fifty, while Noor took the crucial wickets of Cameron Green, Tim David, and Suryakumar Yadav.
MI vs GT Last Two Meetings
MI & GT IPL 2023 Stats
- Top Run-scorer: Suryakumar Yadav – 376 runs (MI); Shubman Gill – 469 runs (GT)
- Most Wickets: Piyush Chawla – 17 wickets (MI); Mohammed Shami & Rashid Khan – 19 wickets (GT)
- Most Sixes: Suryakumar Yadav & Tilak Varma – 18 sixes (MI); Shubman Gill – 13 sixes (GT)