Titans look to seal top-two finish; Mumbai boosted by Tilak Varma's availability
The battle between Titans' bowlers and Mumbai's batters could play a decisive role at the Wankhede
Abhimanyu Bose
11-May-2023 • 2 hrs ago
A win on Friday will secure Gujarat Titans a top-two finish • BCCI
Big picture: Mumbai's batting vs Titans' bowling
On one side, there are Mumbai Indians who have mowed down targets of 200 or more in the last three games where they were chasing. On the other are Gujarat Titans, who have restricted their last three opponents to 130, 118, and then 171 after they themselves scored 227.
So this is essentially a battle between Mumbai's powerful batters and Titans' wily bowlers.
Mumbai, who chased down 200 inside 17 overs in their previous game, against Royal Challengers Bangalore, have been buoyed by Suryakumar Yadav's return to form, the emergence of Nehal Wadhera that has helped them cover for Tilak Varma's injury, and Ishan Kishan once again providing explosive starts. With the big-hitting Tim David and Cameron Green also chipping in with high-impact cameos, Mumbai have been a batting force to reckon with.
Table-toppers Gujarat Titans possess a lethal bowling attack, spearheaded by Mohammed Shami and Rashid Khan who, along with Chennai Super Kings' Tushar Deshpande, jointly sit atop the wicket-takers' chart this season with 19 scalps each.
Shami has consistently troubled batters with the new ball, with captain Hardik Pandya giving him good support from the other end. Rashid, meanwhile, gets his support from fellow Afghan wristspinner Noor Ahmad, as the two chip away in the middle overs.
With this blueprint, they had restricted Mumbai to 152 for 9, in a chase of 208, when these two teams met earlier in the season.
A win on Friday will secure Titans a top-two finish in the league stage, while Mumbai Indians - who moved from No. 8 into the top four with their win against RCB - can ill afford a slip-up in a congested table.
Recent results
Mumbai Indians WLWWL (last five matches, most recent first)
Gujarat Titans WWLWW
Gujarat Titans WWLWW
Team news: Tilak Varma fit again
After missing Mumbai's last two games with a hamstring niggle, Varma is fit to play again against Titans.
Impact Player strategy
With the exception of Varma, who will start if they bat first or come in as Impact Player for Akash Madhwal if they are chasing, Mumbai are likely to stick with the same team that beat RCB.
Mumbai Indians (probable XII): 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Ishan Kishan (wk), 3 Suryakumar Yadav, 4 Tilak Varma, 5 Cameron Green, 6 Nehal Wadhera, 7 Tim David, 8 Chris Jordan, 9 Piyush Chawla, 10 Jason Behrendorff, 11 Kumar Kartikeya, 12 Akash Madhwal
Titans are also unlikely to make any changes, with Alzarri Joseph continuing in Josh Little's absence.
Gujarat Titans (probable XII): 1 Shubman Gill, 2 Wriddhiman Saha (wk), 3 Hardik Pandya (capt), 4 Vijay Shankar, 5 David Miller, 6 Abhinav Manohar, 7 Rahul Tewatia, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Alzarri Joseph, 10 Noor Ahmad, 11 Mohammed Shami, 12 Mohit Sharma
Stats that matter
- Mumbai could potentially target Joseph. Across all T20s, Rohit Sharma scores against him at a strike rate of 233.33 (56 runs in 24 balls) without getting dismissed. Suryakumar Yadav, too, has a favourable match-up against him: 52 runs at 236.36, one dismissal.
- Rashid has dismissed Rohit three times across six T20 innings. But Rohit has also taken him for 43 in 29 balls.
- Kishan has a strike rate of 100 against Shami but has never been dismissed by the seamer in 42 balls.
Pitch and conditions
The Wankhede Stadium has been a batting paradise, and with dew expected, the toss assumes more importance as both teams may want to chase.
The big question
Where will Mumbai Indians finish at the end of the league stage?
317 votesIn top two
Third or fourth
Fifth or below
Abhimanyu Bose is a sub-editor with ESPNcricinfo