THE DERBY OF THE WEST – GUJARAT TITANS VS MUMBAI INDIANS
IPL 2024 is on running and it's the Gujarat Titans taking on the Mumbai Indians in the 5th match of the tournament at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. It's the battle between the former and current(also former) teams of Hardik Pandya.
Gujarat Titans made their debut in the 2022 and was champions in their debut season. It was followed by another excellent season in 2023, where they finished runner up. On the other hand, there is Mumbai Indians, who has the joint most number of IPL trophies. Mumbai lifted the Cup in 5 seasons between 2013-2020. However they failed to make the playoffs in 2021 and 2022 and finished 4th in 2023.
However, a lot of water has flown between 2023 and 2024. Hardik Pandya was an integral part of the MI set up till 202. But he was not retained by MI ahead of the auctions for the 2022 season, and Gujarat Titans bought him at 15 crore. He was made the captain and the Titans had two fantastic seasons. But in great drama, Hardik Pandya was traded to Mumbai Indians during the 2024 IPL auctions, for which the Mumbai Indians had to let go Cameron Green to the RCB, who had a very good season last year. The drama didn't end there. The most successful captain in the history of IPL - Rohit Sharma was removed as the captain of Mumbai Indians, and Hardik Pandya was made the captain.
MUMBAI INDIANS
EXPECTED LINE UP
Rohit Sharma
Ishan Kishan
Tilak Verma
Hardik Pandya
Tim David
Nehal Wadhera
Mohammad Nabi
Romario Shepherd
Piyush Chawla
Jasprit Bumrah
Akash Madhwal
Impact Sub - Shreyas Gopal/Kumar Kartikeya Singh/Nuwan Thushra/Luke Wood
Without doubt, Mumbai Indians seem to be one of the strongest team on paper. They have 5 of India's best batters to play in top 5 - Rohit Sharma, Ishant Kishan, Tilak Verma, Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya. However, Suryakumar Yadav will miss first few matches due to a injury he is still nursing. The finishing department will be led by the Singaporean hard hitter Tim David. Giving him company, will likely be the overseas alllrouders like Romario Shepherd and Mohammad Nabi. There will also be Nehal Wadhera in the finishing role, who had a pretty good last season. The pace attack will be led by Jasprit Bumrah. We are likely to see Akash Madhwal as the second Indian pacer, given that he had a very good last season. They will also have more pace options in the form of Shepherd and Pandya. The likes of Nuwan Thushara and Luke Wood too can be there as impact subs. The spin department has the veteran Piyush Chawla, supported by the likes of Kumar Kartikeya and Shreyas Gopal. Mohammad Nabi will be another great spinning option in the team.
Note : Jason Behrendoff and Dilshan Mdhushanka will miss the entire IPL 2024, while Gerald Coetzee is not fit for the opening fixture.
GUJARAT TITANS
EXPECTED LINE UP
Shubhman Gill
Wriddhiman Saha
Sai Sudharshan
Azmatullah Omarzai
David Miller
Shahrukh Khan/Abhinav Manohar
Rahul Tewatia
Rashid Khan
Mohit Sharma
Umesh Yadav/Kartik Tyagi
Spencer Johnson/Noor Ahmed
Impact Sub - Sai Kishore/Abhinav Manhor/ Shahrukh Khan
Though Gujarat Titans will be without Hardik Pandya and Mohammad Shami this year, they have brought in some great options like Spencer Johnson, Azmatullah Omarzai, Shahrukh Khan, Kartik Tyagi, Umesh Yadav, etc. At the opening, there will most definitely likely to with the familiar faces of Shubhman Gill and Wriddhiman Saha. Sai Sudharshan who scored a brilliant 96 in the last season's final is expected to bat 3. They are likely to be going with an overseas option at no.4. It can be either Azmatullah Omarzai, who is a very attacking batsman and an effective medium pace bowlers or Kane Williamson, who is a very experienced customer. David Miller will handle the middle order and a lot will be expected from him, and he is more than likely to deliver. There is likely to be a toss up between Abhinav Manohar and Shahrukh Khan, with one might be an impact sub. The lower order will be bolstered with Rahul Tewatia and Rashid Khan. Mohit Sharma, who had a fantastic last season, is certain to start. The other Indian pacer can be one of Umesh Yadav or Kartik Tyagi. With one more foreigner that be in the 12, they can either go with pace in form of Spencer Johnson or spin in form of Noor Ahmed. The spinning department which will be led by Rashid Khan, can be supported by Sai Kishore, who can come in as impact sub. There will also be Tewatia providing with one more spinning option.
PITCH AND WEATHER REPORT
It is expected that the pitch will have great bounce and carry. The absence of dew during the evening ensures that the team bowling second won't face significant disadvantages. Furthermore, the weather forecast indicates scorching temperatures, reaching up to 38 degrees Celsius, setting the stage for an intense match ahead.
HEAD TO HEAD
In the four games that they have played against each other, both the teams have emerged victorious on two occasions. Shubhman Gill scored 129(60), while Mohit Sharma picked up 5 wickets for 10 runs when the two sides last met, in Qualifier 2 last season. In one of the league games, Rashid Khan picked up 4/30 and then smashed a brilliant 79(32)*.
MATCH DETAILS
Time: 7: 30 PM IST
Venue: Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad
Live broadcast: Star Network
Live streaming: JioCinema App
DREAM 11
