Gujarat Titans (GT) and Mumbai Indians (MI) will be locking horns with each other in the 51st match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai. Under the captaincy of Hardik Pandya, GT suffered their second loss of the season against Punjab Kings (PBKS) but are still at the top of the points table with 16 points in 10 games.
Gujarat will be looking to stick with the same combination from the previous game despite the loss as they similar set of players has helped them to win 8 games in the season so far. On the other hand, Mumbai Indians finally managed to pick up their first win of the season in the previous game against the Rajasthan Royals (RR) by 5 wickets with 4 balls to spare.
ALSO READ: Match 51 (GT vs MI) – Probable XI And Fantasy XI
However, MI might be looking to try out their bench strength in the remaining games as they have been ruled out of the race of qualifying for the playoffs. Tim David coming good in the previous game will be a huge plus as he provides them with the finishing role while the inclusion of Kumar Kartikeya has been a blessing for them as well.
Ahead of Friday’s clash, we take a look at the player battles to watch out for in the GT vs MI match.
#1 Rohit Sharma vs Mohammed Shami
The out-of-form Rohit Sharma has witnessed a lot of criticism in recent times and it has ranged from mild to scathing and the MI skipper will be keen to get his form back. With too many single-digit scores this season, Rohit has looked vulnerable and helpless — something Mohammed Shami will be expected to exploit. Shami has been impressive for the Titans as he has scalped 15 wickets from 10 matches this season at an economy rate of 8.07.
#2 Hardik Pandya vs Jasprit Burmah
The sheer pace and controlled length meet extreme power when GT captain, Hardik Pandya will be up against his old teammate, Jasprit Bumrah. The MI fast bowler has been a bit off-color this season, scalping just 5 wickets from 10 matches so far, at an economy rate of 7.45. Pandya has been in scintillating form for Gujarat, as he has amassed 309 runs from 9 games at an average of 44.14 and a strike rate of 133.33.
#3 Tilak Varma vs Rashid Khan
Tilak Varma has been pretty average against spinners in IPL 2022 as he has smashed a boundary every 6.4 balls against them. However, he has never faced Rashid Khan before. While Varma has looked in decent form, and he has been pretty consistent in the last few games with the scores of 51*, 38, 35. Rashid was expensive with the ball in the last match. However, he will be eager to exploit the inexperienced MI’s middle-order that’s been good enough for them, so far, this season.
