Table-toppers and reigning champions Gujarat Titans are poised to put an optimistic Mumbai Indians to the test in a crucial Indian Premier League encounter on Friday.
Five-time champions MI have shown promise for the first time in IPL as they moved up to third place in the standings after thrashing Royal Challengers Bangalore by six wickets on Tuesday.
Even though MI changed the order for the second straight game in an effort to increase their net run rate, the manner in which they destroyed RCB by chasing 200 in only 17 overs demonstrated once again how effective their hitting has been.
Here at the Wankhede Stadium, MI’s batting has been almost unstoppable as they have successfully pursued a target of 200 or higher twice in three tries, despite their greatest batsman and skipper Rohit Sharma going through a rough spell with five consecutive single-digit scores.
MI responded with 201 for 6 even against Punjab Kings while chasing 215.
The problem for MI this year, though, is not only Rohit’s performance or the absence of Jasprit Bumrah or Jofra Archer; rather, it is their bowling, which has allowed four successive totals over 200 and almost did it again against RCB.
The opposition had scored 214/8, 212/7, and 199/6 in the past three games played here, taking advantage of the flat pitch and ideal batting conditions, which GT would also seek to stop.
GT are not dealing with the problem of not having in-form hitters lower in the order like RCB, but MI’s bowling fared well against RCB to halt their charge in the middle-overs.
MI easily defeated RCB thanks to Suryakumar Yadav’s 35-ball 83 and Nehal Wadhera’s second fifty of the year, but the hosts are aware that they cannot afford any mistakes while playing the formidable GT, who are comfortably leading the pack and mostly unchallenged.
The greatest plus for MI, whose leading scorers have included Ishan Kishan, Cameron Green, Tim David, and Tilak Varma, is Suryakumar’s return to form. Varma’s readiness for the match on Friday is an open question.
However, the outcome of the match might be greatly influenced by MI’s free-flowing batsmen’ performance against Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmad’s eight overs of spin, who has flourished alongside the senior Afghan.
GT are on the verge of qualifying for the playoffs and becoming the first team to do so with eight victories in their last 11 games.
The franchise has developed under the leadership of captain Hardik Pandya and coach Ashish Nehra this year as well, becoming a serious contender for the championship for the second year in a row.
The positive aspect for GT is that they have won all three of their losses so far away from their home field in Ahmedabad, where they have not lost any of their away games.
GT has a lengthy list of hitters who can step it up in their attempt to go to high totals, and the opening duo of Shubman Gill and Wriddhiman Saha provides a lot of danger. With David Miller and Hardik both hitting home runs, the opposition has even greater difficulties because to the hazardous Rahul Tewatia’s presence.
In fact, GT recently defeated Lucknow Super Giants by a score of 56 runs, compiling their highest-ever IPL total of 227 for two.
The Wankhede is a paradise for hitters, therefore GT would be motivated by their previous match with MI this year.
GT amassed 207/6 and held MI to a meager 152/9 while winning easily by 55 runs.
groups (from)
Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma (c), Jofra Archer, Arshad Khan, Jason Behrendorff, Dewald Brevis, Piyush Chawla, Tim David, Raghav Goyal, Cameron Green, Ishan Kishan (wk), Duan Jansen, Chris Jordan, Kumar Kartikeya, Akash Madhwal, Riley Meredith, Shams Mulani, Ramandeep Singh, Sandeep Warrier, Hrithik Shokeen, Tristan Stubbs, Arjun Tendulkar, Tilak Varma, Vishnu Vinod, Nehal Wadhera, Suryakumar Yadav.
Gujarat Titans: Hardik Pandya (c), Shubman Gill, David Miller, Abhinav Manohar, Sai Sudharsan, Wriddhiman Saha, Matthew Wade, Rashid Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Vijay Shankar, Mohammed Shami, Alzarri Joseph, Yash Dayal, Pradeep Sangwan, Darshan Nalkande, Jayant Yadav, R. Sai Kishore, Noor Ahmad, Dasun Shanaka, Odean Smith, KS Bharat, Shivam Mavi, Urvil Patel, Joshua Little and Mohit Sharma.