Placed third and fourth in the standings after 11 matches, five-time champions Mumbai Indians and Gujarat Titans run into each other for the second time in the season, with both teams needing to win the game.
Mumbai Indians lost to Gujarat Titans in their second match of the season, when the five-time winners were making their usual slow start. But things have changed since that match; Mumbai Indians have won six matches in a row.
On Tuesday at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai Indians will be going for their seventh successive win and will also be thirsting for revenge for their defeat to Gujarat Titans early in the season.
Both Mumbai Indians and Gujarat Titans will be hoping to get back to the top spot, which they had held earlier. But Mumbai Indians head coach Mahela Jayawardene said he is now worried by this constant change in the occupants of the top spot.
I mean, obviously the number of games that you're playing and how that composition works, there is always going to be change, especially with Punjab Kings having that odd number because of the rained-off game. So, all those things that we as a franchise can't control or I as a coach can't control, I'll just focus on the game tomorrow, and then after that, the next game, we have three good games against us, which is good for us.
It will also be a battle of two opening pairs -- Ryan Rickelton and Rohit Sharma for Mumbai Indians and Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan for Gujarat Giants.
After a slow and indifferent start, Rickelton and Rohit have got into their groove and have done well in the last four matches. Rickelton has scored 334 runs and Rohit 292 -- both have scored three fifties.
MI head coach Mahela Jayawardene has revealed that Rohit Sharma is playing with a slight niggle since the Champions Trophy and that is the reason why he is being used as an Impact Substitute for the last five to six matches.
For Gujarat Titans, Sai Sudharsan leads with 504 runs in 10 matches, while Shubman Gill has scored 465 runs. Suryakumar Yadav (475) and Jos Buttler (470) lead their respective middle orders, with Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, and Naman Dhir playing around SKY. For GT, Sherfane Rutherford has done well in the middle order.
The two teams' bowling units are also quite well-matched in their performances so far. While Mumbai Indians have Trent Boult (16), Hardik Pandya (13) and Jasprit Bumrah (11 in 7 matches) contributing to their victories.
Gujarat Titans have Prasidh Krishna leading the charge with 19 wickets from 10 matches, while Mohammed Siraj and Sai Kishore have 14 and 12 from 10 matches. They have got a boost with South African pacer Kagiso Rabada available after serving out a few weeks' suspension for testing positive for use of recreational drugs.
Gujarat Titans' Director of Cricket Vikram Solanki said one of the reasons for their success is captain Shubman Gill, who has thrived under pressure and done well both as a batter and leader.
He's an outstanding batsman and really has a bright future as far as his batting is concerned, but what's pleasing to see is that he's growing as far as leadership is concerned, and he's really grown into the role of captaincy. So that's great to see. When you have somebody who is as gifted, as talented, and as exceptional as Shubman is as a batsman, sometimes you might have concerns about whether the weight of leadership would bear heavy. I don't think that's been the case. I think you sometimes see that people thrive in those sorts of responsibility roles, and Shubman certainly has done that,” said Solanki in the pre-game press conference.
With so many stars on both sides, it is going to be a thriller of a match. The Wankhede pitch is expected to help the bowlers initially before helping the batters under dew, though at times the ball stops and helps the bowlers too.
Mumbai Indians are the in-form team, coming into the game with six wins in a row, while Gujarat Titans have lost two and won three in the last five matches. Overall, in six matches played between them so far, GT have won four and MI two.
Probable playing XIs: Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma, Ryan Rickelton (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Will Jacks, Hardik Pandya (capt), Naman Dhir, Mitchell Santner, Deepak Chahar, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah.
Gujarat Titans: B Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (capt), Jos Buttler (wk), Washington Sundar, Shahrukh Khan, Rashid Khan, Gerald Coetzee, R Sai Kishore, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj, Kagiso Rabada.
