Follow Us22 wins in 31 games - Hardik Pandya has a stellar record as captain in the Indian Premier League. The ace all-rounder led Gujarat Titans to a title in their maiden year in 2022 and then finished as runners-up in the last edition. With a win percentage of more than 70, Pandya is back as captain in Ahmedabad, not to lead GT but to skipper Mumbai Indians.
The 30-year-old has been in the news since moving from Gujarat to Mumbai but will have to leave it all behind when he steps on the field on March 24 (Sunday). Pandya will have his task cut out, considering MI will be without Suryakumar Yadav and Gerald Coetzee. He will also need former Mumbai captain Rohit Sharma to get back amongst runs in the IPL. Pandya’s departure from GT means Shubman Gill will be making his captaincy debut. Pandya’s absence won’t affect them as much as Mohammed Shami’s.
GT vs MI Head-to-Head
Overall - Games 4 | GT 2 | MI 2
H2H at Ahmedabad - Games 2 | GT 2 | MI 0
Venue Details
The Narendra Modi Stadium hosted nine games last season and the batters here scored runs at an average of 28.4 and a scoring rate of 9.3, with a wicket falling every 18.4 deliveries. The fast bowlers had a better average (27.6) and strike rate (17.4) than spinners (34.4 and 23.9, respectively) but the latter were slightly more economical (8.6 v 9.5).
Weather Forecast
The weather will be clear in Ahmedabad, with the temperature hovering around 30-32 degrees during the match time. Just 20 percent humidity, so that’s good news for the players.
Things to watch out for
Bumrah vs GT’s finishers
While franchises are struggling to find one or two good finishers, the Titans have them in abundance. David Miller and Rahul Tewatia are proven finishers and have won Gujarat some ridiculous games in the last two seasons. Rashid Khan is not as consistent as the aforementioned two but has won GT a couple of games with the bat almost single-handedly.
They have lost only four of their 18 games while chasing and it’s largely because of the quality of finishers in their arsenal. Last season, the Titans scored more runs than any other team in the death overs. They had the second-best scoring rate (11.7) and this year, they have gone a step further and added Shahrukh Khan to the list.
Also read - No Hardik & Shami, but Gujarat Titans still have enough quality to say 'Aava De'
Now, the Tamil Nadu batter hasn’t done much in the IPL, but 279 runs @ 19.93 and a strike rate of 162.21 in the last five overs isn’t too bad. If we look at the last season, Vijay Shankar (122 off 47) had a strike rate of 259.6 in the death overs. Sai Sudharsan (88 off 41) went at 214.6, Rashid (102 off 47) at 217 and Gill (105 off 56) at 187.5.
They would be up against Mumbai who had the worst economy rate (11.8) and balls/wicket (3.6) in the final five overs last season. This year, however, MI will have Jasprit Bumrah back, and the onus will be on him to take care of the death bowling. Luke Wood is also known for his death bowling but you can’t expect a lot from him in his debut season.
GT’s powerplay bowling
Shami and Pandya bowled the majority of powerplay overs for GT across the last two seasons and their absence is going to hurt them. If we look at the last two editions, no other bowler has more wickets than Shami (28 @ 21.3) in the first six overs. Their presence allowed Mohit Sharma to operate in the last two phases and it worked really well for the franchise.
They bought Umesh Yadav in the auction who is historically known for his new-ball bowling but the 36-year-old had a terrible IPL 2023. The right-armer could pick up only one wicket in eight innings and leaked runs at 9.9. Even that solitary wicket came in the middle overs. Kartik Tyagi is another new addition but an average of 44.1 and an economy of 10 after 19 IPL games isn’t inspiring at all.
Darshan Nalkande, Sandeep Warrier and Sushant Mishra also haven’t done much at this level. Joshua Little is Gujarat’s best bet in the first six overs but don’t count out the possibility of GT starting with Spencer Johnson. The 28-year-old from Australia can generate good pace and is a better all-phase option than Little. They could instead try Azmatullah Omarzai with the new ball.
MI’s team combination
Mumbai will be without Suryakumar and Coetzee, so it will be interesting to see what combination they go with. Tim David is the only certain starter amongst overseas players, with Dewald Brevis, Mohammad Nabi, Kwena Maphaka, Luke Wood, Romario Shepherd and Nuwan Thushara being the other available options.
Mumbai have always preferred playing two overseas fast bowlers with Bumrah but with SKY not being available and a lack of quality spinners, don’t be surprised if they go ahead with Dewald Brevis and Mohammad Nabi. They could also leave out the latter and play Kumar Kartikeya. This would allow them to feature two overseas seamers.
Also read - Mumbai Indians aim to continue old dominance in new era under Pandya
Probable XIs
GT - Shubman Gill (c), Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Sai Sudharsan (IP), Vijay Shankar, David Miller*, Azmatullah Omarzai*, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan*, Sai Kishore, Spencer Johnson/Noor Ahmad*, Mohit Sharma, Umesh Yadav (IP)
MI - Ishan Kishan (wk), Rohit Sharma, Tilak Varma, Dewald Brevis*, Hardik Pandya (c), Tim David*, Nehal Wadhera (IP), Mohammad Nabi*, Jasprit Bumrah, Kwena Maphaka/Luke Wood*, Akash Madhwal, Piyush Chawla (IP)
Squads
GT - Shubman Gill (c), Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Matthew Wade* (wk), BR Sharath (wk), Sai Sudharsan, David Miller*, M Shahrukh Khan, Kane Williamson*, Azmatullah Omarzai*, Rashid Khan*, Manav Suthar, Abhinav Manohar, Vijay Shankar, Rahul Tewatia, Spencer Johnson*, Josh Little*, Noor Ahmad*, Mohit Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Kartik Tyagi, Darshan Nalkande, R Sai Kishore, Jayant Yadav, Sushant Mishra, Sandeep Warrier
MI - Hardik Pandya (c), Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Tim David*, Dewald Brevis*, Nehal Wadhera, Vishnu Vinod (wk), Romario Shepherd*, Mohammad Nabi*, Shams Mulani, Naman Dhir, Anshul Kamboj, Kumar Kartikeya, Piyush Chawla, Shreyas Gopal, Jasprit Bumrah, Luke Wood*, Gerald Coetzee*, Kwena Maphaka*, Nuwan Thushara*, Akash Madhwal, Arjun Tendulkar, Shivalik Sharma
*overseas player
Telecast and Streaming Details
The match will be live on Star Sports Network and live-streamed on Jio Cinema. The game will start at 7:30 PM, with the toss happening at 7 PM.
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