Overview
The Gujarat Titans, current Indian Premier League (IPL) champions, made a stunning comeback in their most recent win away to the Lucknow Super Giants, a result that gave them a 4-2 record for the season. That victory left KL Rahul, the opposing captain, almost speechless – “I don’t know how it happened,” he said at the post-match presentation. Like the Mumbai Indians (3-3 for the season), who fought gamely before losing to Punjab Kings in a high-scoring game, Gujarat have had a short break to rest and reset.
They will return to the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, a venue where they have lost twice in three games this year, having batting first on each occasion. Winning the toss could be advantageous as seven of the last eight IPL games at this venue have been won by the chasing team. However, the Titans should have great confidence after defending a total against another strong team.
In their only meeting last year, Mumbai emerged victorious after batting first and scoring 177, with notable contributions from Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan, and Tim David. Mumbai have won only two of their last eight matches when batting first, but they can draw confidence from those victories if asked to set a total here.
One area of concern for Mumbai is their bowling economy rate, which is the second-worst in the tournament at 9.45 runs per over. Only Piyush Chawla has conceded less than nine runs an over in 2023. Although Jason Behrendorff has taken seven wickets this season, he has a high economy rate, while Arjun Tendulkar has had a tough introduction to the IPL. Mumbai started the season slowly, but bounced back with two consecutive away wins, as their batters posted scores of 173 and 192 in Delhi and Hyderabad.
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Venue and time
Narendra Modi Cricket Stadium, Ahmedabad. 7:30 PM
Head-to-head
Mumbai Indians won the only match they have played against Gujarat Titans.
Expected conditions and toss
It is expected to be sunny and hot in Ahmedabad. With Gujarat having lost two of their three matches at their home venue, after batting first, the team winning the toss could opt to chase.
Likely playing XI and Impact Players
Nehal Wadhera could be the Impact Player for Mumbai Indians if chasing, replacing Piyush Chawla. For Gujarat, Abhinav Manohar should be a good option given his reputation as a finisher. Jayant Yadav could come into play if defending a total.
Gujarat Titans: Wriddhiman Saha (WK), Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan, Hardik Pandya (C), Vijay Shankar, David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Mohammed Shami, Noor Ahmad, Mohit Sharma.
Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma (C), Ishan Kishan (WK), Cameron Green, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Tim David, Arjun Tendulkar, Hrithik Shokeen, Jofra Archer, Piyush Chawla, Riley Meredith.
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