Akash Madhwal`s breathtaking bowling performance against Lucknow Super Giants in the Eliminator would have given five-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians wings and they would be fancying their chances against defending champions Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 2 to be played in the world`s largest stadium on Friday.
Mumbai Indians, riding on magical figures of five for five produced by Madhwal at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Wednesday night, knocked out LSG from the race to the final with an 81-run win.
The massive MI victory was a warning to the rivals that they could lift their game according to the occasion even in the absence of star pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Jofra Archer and batting mainstay Tilak Varma.
GT vs MI: A brief overview
Mumbai pride themselves on thriving when the odds are stacked against them, something they have done throughout the season. Having finished last in the previous edition, Rohit Sharma`s team has ground it out this season to remain in contention for a sixth IPL title even with limited resources.
The likes of Cameron Green, Suryakumar Yadav and Tim David have responded well to the challenges and now form the backbone of the batting department with the young Nehal Wadhera too making a huge impact, and the opening pair of Rohit and Ishan Kishan doing a fair job.
Also Read: Test of wits between `skipper` Rohit vs `successor` Pandya – who will beat whom?
It will be a stern test for the Titans` bowling attack, led by Mohammad Shami (26 wickets in 15 matches), to get the better of MI`s batting, which has improved drastically towards the business end of the tournament.
Gujarat Titans, outclassed and outgunned in Qualifier 1 by Mahendra Singh Dhoni`s Chennai Super Kings, will have one last chance to gather themselves up and put their best foot forward in familiar conditions here in order to qualify for their second IPL final on the trot.
It will be imperative for the defending champions that their batting clicks in unison, since Shubman Gill and Vijay Shankar have done bulk of the heavy lifting with the bat in the last few games.
Gill might have had an off day against CSK but his two centuries in the closing stages of the league round make him the biggest threat for Mumbai Indians.
GT vs MI: Dream11 Prediction
Wicketkeepers: Wriddhiman Saha
Batters: Suryakumar Yadav, Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill (vc), David Miller, Tilak Varma
All-rounders: Cameron Green (c)
Bowlers: Mohammad Shami, Rashid Khan, Piyush Chawla, Akash Madhwal
GT vs MI: Full squads
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.
Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma (c), Chris Jordan, 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.
GT vs MI: Predicted Playing XIs
Gujarat Titans: Shubman Gill, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Hardik Pandya (c), Vijay Shankar, David Miller, Abhinav Manohar/Dasun Shanaka, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad, Mohit Sharma, Mohammad Shami.
Mumbai Indians: Ishan Kishan (wk), Rohit Sharma (c), Cameron Green, Suryakumar Yadav, Tim David, Nehal Wadhera, Tilak Varma, Piyush Chawla, Akash Madhwal, Kumar Kartikeya, Chris Jordan.
8:17 PM: GT 13/0 (2)
Gill has played two good shots in the first two overs to show what kind of form he is in. MI will want to take his wicket inside Powerplay.
8:00 PM: Match begins!
Gill-Saha begin proceedings for Gujarat Titans, Jason Behendroff attacks the stumps.
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