Five-time champions Mumbai Indians (MI), who bounced back in the tournament at the right time to be third on the points table, face a stiff challenge in the form of defending champions Gujarat Titans (GT) at the Wankhede Stadium tonight. The Hardik Pandya-led Gujarat outfit have enjoyed eight wins in the tournament and are on top of the table after 11 games.
Despite MI captain Rohit Sharma (191 runs) struggling with the bat, other batters like Suryakumar Yadav (376), Ishan Kishan (335) and Cameron Green (274) didn’t disappoint MI when it mattered. Even young Nehal Wadhera has had quick half-centuries in the last two games and Tim David played a few match-winning knocks.
GT’s strong bowling unit
However, GT have a strong bowling unit in their armoury and can probably boast of the most experienced one in the tournament. India pacer Mohammed Shami and Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan are leading the bowling charts with 19 wickets each. Medium pacer Mohit Sharma and young left-arm wrist spinner Noor Ahmad have supported them with 12 and 11 wickets respectively.
GT’s in-form batsman Shubman Gill
But when mid-day asked GT’s Director of Cricket, Vikram Solanki, whether he views it as a contest between his team’s strong bowling unit and the hosts’ batting power, he said “No”. “It’s a contest between two very strong sides. I don’t think we can take anything for granted. You’ve seen at times when you think the game is wrapped up, there have been twists. It would be ill-advised to take our opponents for granted,” Solanki said during a pre-match press conference on Thursday.
Also Read: IPL 2023: Upbeat MI to take on GT`s might in vital IPL clash
Consistent batting line-up
In their earlier game played in Ahmedabad on April 25, MI managed 152-9 while chasing GT’s 207-6 and lost by 55 runs. So far, Shubman Gill (469 runs), Hardik (277), Wriddhiman Saha (273), Vijay Shankar (205) and David Miller (201) are consistent with the bat for the Gujarat team. MI left-arm spinner Kumar Kartikeya, who is capable of bowling both left-arm orthodox and wrist spin, wants to keep it simple to execute his plans.
“Titans are a very good team. You can plan as much as you want, but I feel execution is more important in T20s—how you respond on the ground to various situations. I always try to keep things simple. I don’t try to bowl magic balls. My focus is on always hitting the right lengths,” said Kartikeya, who has claimed three wickets in five games.
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