The 5th match of the tournament will be played between Mumbai Indians (MI) and Gujarat Titans (GT). A much awaited encounter for which the fans are waiting for. It will start at 7:30 p.m. (IST).
Teams Analysis:
Mumbai Indians (MI):
One of the most successful franchises in the IPL. Under the leadership of Rohit Sharma, the team has tasted 5 IPL trophies and now a newly appointed captain Hardik Pandya will have to take the responsibility of his debut franchise.
They have a huge successful and destructive batting unit. Starting with the ex-captain Rohit Sharma who is known for his huge sixes. He can be more dangerous if he manages 20 balls or more. In the ODIs also he likes to play aggressively. In this franchise league he will definitely again show his aggressiveness. His last season was not up to the mark as he scored just 332 runs including 2 half-centuries.
On the other hand young keeper batter Ishan Kishan also took off the pressure from the team as he tried to dominate the bowlers from the beginning. In the 2023 season he was the 2nd highest scorer for the team with 454 runs and hit 3 half-centuries. He is off from the national side for quite a long time and not his performance will decide the future of him in the national team. Tilak Varma, a new lad in the team, played his first season last year and batted brilliantly and scored 343 runs with a heavy strike rate of 164.11.
Nehal Wadhera, the other talent in the team who showed that in any position he can easily. Showing his maturity as he played according to the situation demands. New captain Hardik Pandya has shown his capacity by scoring runs as well as can get wickets in crucial stages. Already under his leadership he took GT to the finals in both (2022 and 2023) the season. Now with a huge responsibility in his shoulder he had to get that momentum right.
Then in the team there is the most dependable batsman Suryakumar Yadav. He is well known as a T20 specialist and played many match winning innings. In the last season, he struggled little at the start but after 4-5 matches he got his form back and scored most runs for his team with 605 runs in which it includes 1 century and 5 half-centuries. He is again set to show his top-notch performance again. Tim David and Dewald Brevis are known for their finishing styles and can easily show fireworks in the death overs.
In the bowling department, Jasprit Bumrah has a huge reputation of challenging batsmen in each of his overs. Most of the batsmen in the world find him difficult to play. Last season due to injury he missed out the whole tournament but now he is back and is more lethal than before with the deliveries. Especially in the death overs he is a beast. A new addition to the team, Gerald Coetzee the South African, can be easily coordinated with Bumrah. Not only with his bowling he can bat also aggressively which gives a plus point to the team.
In the 2024 IPL auction, MI also went for two Sri Lankans Dilshan Madushanka and Nuwan Thushara. Dilshan was the highest wicket-taker for Sri Lanka in the 2023 ODI World Cup and mostly got wickets in each match he played. The veteran Indian spinner Piyush Chawla was the highest wicket-taker in 2023 season for the team with 22 wickets in 16 matches and will again take the spinning charge for the team again.
Probable playing 11 for the match:
Hardik Pandya ©, Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan (wk), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Nehal Wadhera, Tim David, Gerald Coetzee, Piyush Chawla, Jasprit Bumrah, Nuwan Thushara.
Gujarat Titans (GT):
A new franchise who played their both seasons as finalists. In their inaugural season (2022) they were the champions. But now they have a new leader, Shubman Gill, who has to take the legacy ahead. It will be interesting to see how things will be under the new skipper and will they continue to make their hattrick IPL final or not.
The batting unit of the GT seems to be not that powerful but still there are some names who can change the gears according to the situations. Starting with the captain Shubman Gill who played the last season as the 2nd most successful run getter in the IPL so far as he scored 890 runs in which 3 centuries and 4 half-centuries were included in 17 matches. He started his innings slowly but as he spent more time on the pitch he became more and more aggressive.
Next to the party was their wicket-keeper Wriddhimann Saha who played well in the powerplay but was unable to score much with the bat later on. He scored 371 runs in the last season. Sai Sudharsan played his first season in the previous season. He started brilliantly but got injured in the middle of the tournament and after that he returned back and again hit 362 runs with the bat with an average of 51.71.
David Miller is a well known finisher but his last season was not that up to the mark and didn’t hit a single half-century there. But now he definitely wanted to change things. Another hard hitter Shahrukh Khan, whom the franchise acquired in 7.40 crores, is well known for his aggressiveness in the death overs and once again he has to show the nature of finishing the innings with the destruction.
Gujarat is well known for its bowling unit. In the 2023 season the top three wicket takers were from the GT only. This time the only thing they had to lose was the unavailability of Mohammad Shami. He had done his ankle surgery for which he needed at least 5-6 months to recover. Next is their most experienced bowler Rashid Khan, who had the capacity to take wickets when the team needed the most. In the last season he got 27 wickets and was 3rd in the list of the purple cap. He can also contribute with the bat and can score fast runs.
Mohit Sharma the other guy from the squad has a huge experience in the IPL and grabbed 27 wickets for the team in 2023. He was 2nd in the chart and in the absence of Shami he has to lead the team in the pace department. Spencer Johnson was the highest priced player for the Titans in the 2024 auction. The franchise grabbed him by paying 10 crores. Now it will be his debut season and he can contribute well with his left arm pace attack.
Probably playing 11 for the Match:
Shubman Gill ©, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Sai Sudharsan, David Miller, Azmatullah Omarzai, Shahrukh Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Mohit Sharma, Spencer Johnson, Umesh Yadav.
Pitch Report:
The match will be played at Narendra Modi stadium, Ahmedabad. The pitch basically offers huge assistance to the batsman. But if it is played on the red pitch then it will help spinners also.
Weather Report:
The weather will remain clear throughout the day. As the temperature will be 35 degree up and the lower will be 24 degree celsius. No chances of rain and the humidity will be less than 30%.
Best 11 for the Match:
Ishan Kishan, Rohit Sharma, David Miller, Suryakumar Yadav, Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan, Hardik Pandya, Azmatullah Omarzai, Jasprit Bumrah, Rashid Khan, Gerald Coetzee.