IPL 2023 | Predicted Playing XIs for Mumbai Indians vs Gujarat Titans
Gujarat Titans routed Mumbai Indians by 55 runs earlier in the season [Source: Twitter]
Defending champions Gujarat Titans will go up against five-time winners Mumbai Indians in Match 57 of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) at Wankhede tomorrow evening. Titans demolished Mumbai by 55 runs, the last time these two sides met at Narendra Modi Stadium on April 25.
Led by Rohit Sharma, Mumbai need a win to keep their chances of a top-two finish alive, while currently sitting third in the points table.
On the other hand, Hardik Pandya-led Titans are inches away from securing a spot in the playoffs, and very well end the group stage as table-toppers.
Mumbai Indians (MI)
Openers
Ishan Kishan and Rohit Sharma
Mumbai's opening woes have somewhat been masked by Kishan's aggressive approach upfront. The left-hander batter has provided his side with swift starts, making up for the lack of runs from the other end, where Sharma has struggled.
This has been yet another horrid season for the captain, where Sharma has scored just 191 runs. The franchise will want the Indian captain to hit running with playoffs just around the corner.
Middle-order
Cameron Green, Suryakumar Yadav, Tim David, Nehal Wadhera
After a good start, Green has lately been out of touch for Mumbai in the past few games. Nehal Wadhera, who has replaced an in-form Tilak Varma, has stolen the limelight from much-accomplished stars in the lineup with his back-to-back fifties.
Suryakumar Yadav has been the franchise's driving force this season, slamming 376 runs at a blistering strike rate, which has taken the opposition by storm.
Bowlers
Chris Jordan, Piyush Chawla, Akash Madhwal, Kumar Kartikeya, Jason Behrendorff
If Mumbai leaves out Piyush Chawla and Jason Behrendorff, their bowling attack looks quite weak, despite the inclusion of Chris Jordan. Jordan's debut MI game did not fare well, where he got hit for plenty.
Both Akash Madhwal and Kumar Kartikeya have been decent so far in limited chances and will be under the pump against Gujarat batters.
Predicted Playing XI of Mumbai Indians
Rohit Sharma (c), Ishan Kishan (wk), Cameron Green, Suryakumar Yadav, Tim David, Nehal Wadhera, Chris Jordan, Piyush Chawla, Akash Madhwal, Kumar Kartikeya, and Jason Behrendorff
Impact Players
Ramandeep Singh, Tristan Stubbs, Vishnu Vinod, Sandeep Warrier, Raghav Goyal
Gujarat Titans (GT)
Openers
Wriddhiman Saha and Shubman Gill
Unarguably, one of the most consistent opening pairs this season, Saha and Gill have been a backbone for Gujarat's dominance in the competition. Both Gill and Saha came perilously close to slamming respective hundreds against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). Gill will hope to maintain his form with WTC Final getting ever so close.
Middle Order
Hardik Pandya, David Miller, Vijay Shankar, Abhinav Manohar, Rahul Tewatia
With Pandya coming back into form, GT have a formidable line-up packed with power-hitter, who will enjoy scoring in Mumbai, where runs are easy to come by. A worry for Titans, however, will be match-time that some of their finishers have had lately, where did not get to bat much.
Bowlers
Rashid Khan, Mohit Sharma, Noor Ahmad, Mohammed Shami
With a lethal pace and a probing spin attack, Gujarat in Shami, Sharma, Ahmad, and Khan an envious bowling unit, that has made life for batters difficult.
Shami has knocked over batsmen early on, while Khan and Noor have spun a web around middle-overs. Sharma with this controlled death over bowling has managed to restrict power house batter consistently.
However, they will be tested against Mumbai, who have all their batters in-form unlike before.
Predicted Playing XI of Gujarat Titans
Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Shubman Gill, Hardik Pandya (c), Vijay Shankar, David Miller, Abhinav Manohar, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Mohit Sharma, Noor Ahmad, and Mohammed Shami
Impact Players
Alzarri Joseph, Dasun Shanaka, KS Bharat, Shivam Mavi, Jayant Yadav.
 "Vishal Mehra")
