AGENCY
new delhi, MAY 6:
On a roll after recording six wins on the bounce, five-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians will look to continue their surge and cement their place in the top two when they take on the Gujarat Giants at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Tuesday.
With 14 points in their kitty, both sides are stacked one above the other in the leaderboard with the Hardik Pandya-led outfit currently on third with seven victories from 11 games while Shubman Gill’s Titans are at fourth position with seven wins from 10 outings. A win on Tuesday will take the sides one step closer to a top-two finish in the league stage.
Heading into the encounter, Mumbai Indians hold a slight psychological edge after having registered commanding victories in their past couple of matches. A 54-run win against Lucknow Super Giants followed by a 100-run triumph over Rajasthan Royals boosted their net run rate to +1.274 while Gujarat Titans have had a mixed run in their last two matches, as they suffered a 8-wicket loss to RR before bouncing back with a 38-run win against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Ahmedabad in their most recent outing. On Tuesday, MI will once again expect all their departments to fire in unison. Their batting order has picked pace at the right time, with former skipper Rohit Sharma getting back into his rhythm that could unsettle any bowling attack. Against the Royals, Rohit and his opening partner Ryan Rickleton put up a solid 116-run stand to set the tone for the middle order to pile up a big total.
Having said that, Rohit and Ryan will, however, be challenged by Mohammed Siraj, who will look to build on the decent outing against SRH.
In the middle order, Suryakumar Yadav has also been in great hitting form and the Indian T20 captain will look to continue the momentum, with his battle against Afghanistan’s star spinner Rashid Khan likely to play an integral part in setting the tone of MI’s batting performance. Skipper Hardik Pandya is also in his elements with the bat, and the same would be expected from the likes of Tilak Varma, Naman Dhir and the rest of the line-up. On the bowling front, Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult have been on song and the experienced pace duo will look for similar performances from the rest of the bowling unit, that looks an impressive one. Deepak Chahar was outstanding against the Royals, claiming a wicket but went with a sub-seven economy rate during his two over spell while Pandya and the leg-spinner Karn Sharma will be expected to tighten the grip in the middle overs.
On the other hand, Gujarat Titans boast of probably the most-settled opening combination in the tournament, with Sai Sudharsan and Shubman Gill giving the much-needed cushion for the middle and lower order to explode.
The addition of Jos Buttler to their top three has worked wonders for the side this season with the Englishman playing the dual role of constructing the innings in the case of an early casualty besides being the aggressor on most occasions.
The presence of Buttler has also shadowed the inconsistent performance of Titans’ middle order, comprising the likes of Washington Sundar, Shahrukh Khan, Rahul Tewatia, who all have blown hot and cold throughout the season.
Against a potent MI attack, the Titans middle order could be up for a challenge in case the top order fails to set the tone.
In bowling, the Titans’ will look up to Siraj, Ishant Sharma and Prasidh Krishna for wickets in the powerplay despite Ishant clearly looking past his prime. At the Wankhede track, where the red soil pitches clearly give an edge to the slower bowlers, the Titans will pin their hopes on the trio of Sai Kishore, Washington and Rashid Khan to end MI’s dominating run.
Squads:
Mumbai Indians: Hardik Pandya (c), Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Robin Minz (wk), Ryan Rickelton (wk), Shrijith Krishnan (wk), Bevon Jacobs, Tilak Varma, Naman Dhir, Will Jacks, Mitchell Santner, Raj Angad Bawa, Raghu Sharma, Corbin Bosch, Trent Boult, Karn Sharma, Deepak Chahar, Ashwani Kumar, Reece Topley, VS Penmetsa, Arjun Tendulkar, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Jasprit Bumrah.
Gujarat Titans: Shubman Gill (c), Jos Buttler (wk), Kumar Kushagra (wk), Anuj Rawat (wk), Sherfane Rutherford, Nishant Sidhu, Mahipal Lomror, Washington Sundar, Mohammed Arshad Khan, R Sai Kishore, Jayant Yadav, Karim Janat, B Sai Sudharsan, Dasun Shanaka, Shahrukh Khan, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Manav Suthar, Gerald Coetzee, Gurnoor Singh Brar, Ishant Sharma, Kulwant Khejroliya, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan.
