TACTICAL PREVIEW
Follow UsMumbai Indians and Gujarat Titans are both coming off convincing wins. With so many teams vying for the final two playoff spots, Mumbai can gain a lot more from a win in this encounter.
Three consecutive 200+ chases in the last three games will keep the Mumbai batters in good stead. Should they chase, they will fancy their chances against the mighty Gujarat bowling lineup.
The visiting Gujarat Titans are coming to Mumbai after two thumping wins. Almost every player in their XI has come up with match-winning performances, including the likes of Mohit Sharma and Abhinav Manohar. Wriddhiman Saha’s batting form was their only cause for concern, but even he came up with a 43-ball-81 to help GT post a massive 227 in their previous encounter.
Things to watch out for
What are the qualification scenarios?
Gujarat are sitting pretty at the top with 16 points. If they win the encounter against Mumbai, they will book a berth in the playoff with 18 points. In fact, they will reserve a top-two spot as only Chennai Super Kings can reach 18 or more points (Matches - 11, Points - 13).
For Mumbai, the mantra is straightforward. They need to win their remaining encounters and reach 18 points. If they fail to win against Gujarat and win their other two games, they will depend on a few other results to enter the playoffs.
Rajasthan Royals and Punjab Kings have to win all their matches. As both are playing each other in Match 66, only one can reach 16 points. Before this match, Rajasthan will play Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore. A win against both will rule out Kolkata and Bangalore's chances of reaching 16 points.
Mumbai are playing Lucknow Super Giants after tomorrow’s game. A win against LSG will also ensure they don't exceed 15. Fortunately, Mumbai will know what they must do while playing Sunrisers Hyderabad on the last day of the league.
Both teams love chasing
It is well-known that Gujarat are one of the best chasing teams. While chasing, Gujarat have lost only two out of 15 matches, with a win percentage of 86.6%. This season, they have won five out of six matches while chasing.
Best bowling team vs the worst
The clash at Wankhede is also between the best bowling team and the worst bowling team. In the reverse fixture, Gujarat rampaged to 207, before their famed bowling attack took over and restricted the Mumbai batters to 152. GT will look to stick to the same template, to do the double over an Archer-less Mumbai.
Ground Details
The Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai has always been a high-scoring venue and this year has been no different. In IPL 2023, the batters here have scored runs at an average of 32.5, the best among the 11 venues used this season. The scoring rate of 9.8 is also the second-best, while a wicket has fallen every 19.8 deliveries.
When it comes to the bowling department, spinners here have fared way better numbers than fast bowlers. The tweakers have operated at an average of 25.8 and an economy of 7.9, also picking up a wicket every 19.5 deliveries. However, the corresponding numbers for seamers are 38.1, 11 and 20.8 respectively.
Three of the four games have been won by the side batting second. In the last two encounters, 200 has been breached in all four innings.
Tactical Nous
In the middle-overs, MI have been the best batting unit. They have scored the most runs. They have done this by scoring the fastest amongst all teams (9.3) and second-best balls/dismissal (22.0). A lot of it has to do with Suryakumar Yadav’s performance in this phase. He tops the charts for runs, strike-rate, balls/boundary, etc. amongst others. On the other hand, Gujarat’s bowling attack has been one of the better bowling units in overs 7-15. This will be a key matchup for both teams.
GT’s opening pair has seen a resurgence in form, with their average and strike-rate going up from 23.2 and 148 in the first six games, to 53.2 and 175 in the last five. Mumbai’s powerplay bowling has been a major cause for concern. They have the second-fewest wickets in this phase, and have conceded runs over 9 RPO.
Probable XIs
Mumbai Indians - Rohit Sharma (C), Ishan Kishan (WK), Cameron Green, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma (subject to fitness), Tim David, Nehal Wadhera (IS), Jofra Archer, Piyush Chawla, Vishnu Vinod (IS), Akash Madhwal, Jason Behrendorff
Gujarat Titans: Shubman Gill (IS), Wriddhiman Saha (WK), Hardik Pandya (C), Vijay Shankar, David Miller, Abhinav Manohar (IS), Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Mohit Sharma, Alzarri Joseph, Noor Ahmad, Mohammed Shami
(IS)- Impact Sub
