IPL 2023: Looking to improve home record, Gujarat Titans take on Mumbai Indians
Buoyed by their come-from-behind victory over Lucknow Super Giants, defending champions Gujarat Titans will be eager to put on an improved all-round performance against five-time champions Mumbai Indians, who themselves are coming off a loss at the hands of Punjab Kings.
The only time these two teams met in the IPL last year, MI’s Daniel Sams bowled a superb last over to deny Titans a win by five runs. The Titans have lost two of the three matches played here and won all three of their away clashes. They will be looking to improve that home record. Incidentally, the second qualifier and final will also be held here.
Mumbai ran Punjab Kings close in their previous game before losing by 13 runs, bringing to a halt their three-match winning run. Their openers Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan are back among the runs while the bat of the flamboyant Suryakumar Yadav has started talking.
Cameron Green, Tim David and Tilak Varma have shouldered the middle-order batting responsibilities. The bowling department, however, looks a tad lean, with left-arm pacer Arjun Tendulkar being taken to the cleaners in the last match. His bowling partner Jason Behrendorff and pacer Jofra Archer too have leaked runs.
The spin-bowling department, however, offers encouragement with the resurgence of leg spinner Piyush Chawla, who has taken nine wickets in six matches, at an economy rate of 6.86, second-best among the top 20 wicket-takers in the current season.
