Unflappable GT tussle IPL royalty for a ticket back to Ahmedabad

Gujarat Titans vs Mumbai Indians: Eliminator Preview

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Background

Gujarat Titans are set to face Mumbai Indians in the eliminator match of the IPL playoffs. Despite finishing fourth, MI are confident of their chances, having won six successive matches to reach this stage. GT, on the other hand, have been the best team since their inception in 2022, making two finals and one.

Head to Head

GT lead the head-to-head record 5-2, including a double over MI this season. They have won each of their last four encounters, including the second qualifier of 2023.

Injury/Unavailability

Ryan Rickelton, Will Jacks, and Corbin Bosch are unavailable for MI due to national duty. Jonny Bairstow, Charith Asalanka, and Richard Gleeson have joined the team as temporary replacements.

Tactics & Match-ups

• Trent Boult has dismissed Sai Sudharsan twice this season, conceding only 31 off 30 balls to him.
• Boult has also dismissed Sherfane Rutherford twice in seven balls.
• Rohit Sharma has done well against GT pacers Prasidh Krishna and Mohammed Siraj, but has been troubled by Rashid Khan in this tournament.
• Rashid Khan has repeatedly flummoxed Rohit in the past, conceding just 35 off 32 deliveries for two dismissals.

Probable XI

MI: Rohit Sharma, Jonny Bairstow, Suryakumar Yadav, Charith Asalanka, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Naman Dhir, Mitchell Santner, Deepak Chahar, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah, Ashwani Kumar/Karn Sharma

GT: Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill, Kusal Mendis, Sherfane Rutherford, Shahrukh Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Gerald Coetzee, Arshad Khan, R Sai Kishore, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna

Quotes

• "Overall, play good cricket, bat well, bowl well, work on the plans, see what is the template which will work as a batting group. Bowlers have been doing really well throughout the season. Batting, we'll figure out what is the right template on right tracks and if we bat first, what is the pace we want to bat. Couple of things which we need to identify, but I don't think [there's] much panic. We knew what's at stake." – Hardik Pandya
• "This [loss to CSK] one would be a hard pill to swallow for us. The bright side is that we have two or three games left so boys will be motivated to play in Mohali. Fortunately for me, going back to my hometown… [I've] played a lot of cricket there and it's going to be really exciting." – Shubman Gill