Fantasy Preview: Gujarat Titans vs Mumbai Indians, 51st Match, IPL 2022

Despite the eight-wicket loss against Punjab Kings, Gujarat Titans find themselves in a comfortable position to qualify to the knockout stages of the competition as the top two sides. On the other hand, there is Mumbai Indians, who have faltered multiple times under the pressure throughout the season to find themselves out of the playoff race. 

Also read: Gujarat Titans with an aim to seal top-two finish for playoffs

So, in hindsight, this game should be fairly comfortable for Gujarat, however, Mumbai have upset Rajasthan Royals the other night, so anything and everything is possible in this edition of the Indian Premier League. 

Ground Details

It is the Brabourne Stadium, the home for some quality cricket between the bat and the ball. As many other venues, sides chasing has won 64% of the game, with the teams batting first having to weather the early storm against pace. Barring Rajasthan and Lucknow, all three other games at the venue have been won by teams chasing. 

Last game at the venue (prior to Match 50) was the clash between RCB and GT, a fixture which saw a thrilling finish. Expect games at the venue to go down the wire, considering how many games have been played at the venue thus far. 

On the expected lines, pacers have picked up 80 wickets at the venue (61%), with only 51 wickets being taken by the tweakers in 11 games thus far in the season. Expect both captains to be chasing at the venue. 

Team Suggestion

The team we've picked has a good mix of world-class batters and bowlers. But remember, while you could go for the above team, you also have the option of choosing your team from Cricket.com’s Fantasy Research Centre. You can use this tool to build your team with the help of algorithms. 

Captain Suggestion

Hardik Pandya has had quite a season as the captain of the Gujarat Titans. Barring two games, the Titans have not lost this season, with a great balance between the bat and the ball. Vital to Gujarat’s success has been Hardik’s dominance with the bat. While he has suffered a major dip in his form, scoring just 1, 3 and 10 across his last three fixtures, the right-hander before that showed quite a glimpse of himself, with knocks of 67 and 87 against KKR and RR respectively. With his side almost on the verge of qualifying in the top two, expect Hardik to come out firing against his former team. 

Criclytics predicts Hardik to score 14-22 runs and pick up 0-1 wicket against MI

X-factors

Despite Mumbai’s lackluster season in the tournament, Surykumar Yadav has been a shining light. Having played much of the tournament at No.4, considering Mumbai’s setup, the return to No.3 has aided in SKY’s scintillating returns. Having failed in the clash against Lucknow Super Giants, the right-hander made a smashing comeback in the next clash against Royals, scoring 51. His last seven innings in the competition reads: 51, 7, 32, 37, 43, 68*, 52

Criclytics predicts Suryakumar to score between 28-42 runs in the clash against Gujarat

If SKY has been a consistent performer for MI in the last few seasons, Tilak Varma has taken the IPL like a duck to water. With unreal consistency, the southpaw has been smashing bowling attacks game after game, including putting up multiple top scores for his side, albeit it being in a losing cause. The 19-year-old, like Suryakumar, has scores of 35, 38, 51, 26, 36 in his last five games, enough to suggest his firepower.

Criclytics predicts Tilak to score between 29-43 runs in the clash against Gujarat

Mohammed Shami has stepped a little off the accelerator in Gujarat’s last two games but the experience is such that he can always bounce back like nothing has happened. Shami is one of the few rare pacers in the list of top wicket-takers this season, with 15 scalps in the competition, averaging 21.53. Against Mumbai’s openers, who are in quite a rut, it would be interesting to see how the right-arm pacer goes about his business. 

Criclytics predicts Shami to pick 2-3 wickets against Mumbai

Here are the top picks as per Criclytics projections

Probable XIs:

Mumbai Indians: Ishan Kishan (wk), Rohit Sharma (c), Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Tim David, Kieron Pollard, Daniel Sams, Hrithik Shokeen, Jasprit Bumrah, Kumar Karthikeya Singh, Riley Meredith

Gujarat Titans: Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Shubman Gill, B Sai Sudharshan, Hardik Pandya (c), David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Pradeep Sangwan, Lockie Ferguson, Alzarri Joseph, Mohammed Shami