Mumbai Indians and Gujarat Titans are gearing up to face off in a high-stakes Eliminator match on Friday at Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, Mullanpur, Chandigarh. The winner of this encounter will advance to Qualifier 2, where they'll meet Punjab Kings for a chance to reach the final. Both teams brimming with confidence and talent will be eager to extend their campaigns.
Gujarat Titans, who finished third in the points table, are coming off back-to-back losses. Despite a third-place finish, they remain a formidable force, looking to make a resounding comeback. Their top-order batsmen have been pivotal throughout the season, with Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill and Jos Buttler leading the charge. However, GT will be without the services of Jos Buttler, who is unavailable due to international commitments. This absence places additional pressure on the middle-order to step up and deliver. Meanwhile, Buttler’s replacement, Kusal Mendis, is a promising batter.
MI, on the other hand, enter the Eliminator with a strong batting attack. Suryakumar Yadav is MI’s leading run-getter with 640. Their bowling attack is also robust featuring the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult and Mitchell Santner. Ryan Rickelton will be unavailable, but his replacement, Jonny Bairstow, is quite experienced.
Head to head
Matches - 5
GT won - 3
MI won - 2
Gujarat Titans probable XII: Shubman Gill (c), Sai Sudharsan, Kusal Mendis (wk), Sherfane Rutherford, M Shahrukh Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Gerald Coetzee, Arshad Khan, Sai Kishore, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna
Mumbai Indians probable XII: Rohit Sharma, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav, Charith Asalanka, Hardik Pandya (c), Naman Dhir, Mitchell Santner, Deepak Chahar, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah, Karn Sharma