Table toppers Gujarat Titans (GT) take on bottom-placed Mumbai Indians (MI) as Hardik Pandya-led side won the toss and elected to bowl first in their Indian Premier League (IPL) clash at the Brabourne stadium on Friday (May 6).
"We are gonna bowl first. With the new ball, something might happen, wanted to make sure we get most out of it. More than the formula, it's important to get the best things for our team and see how next games come. We have been quite consistent, one game was bound to happen. It was supposed to come. Batters didn't do their best, even the bowlers could have been better. We are playing the same team," GT skipper Hardik Pandya said after winning the toss.
"I have a very good feeling. My only aim is to make the team win and so the right things are happening. Last match we won and are in a good space. We took the last game deep, the batters took responsibility and we have the same plan, taking it deep is better as this a high scoring ground and wickets in hand is the key. DB (Brevis) is my best friend in the team and we keep pranking each other, enjoying each other's company, I have made a lot of friends and we enjoy our time together. We give our 100 percent on the field and have a good time off it. My goal is to do whatever I have done in the nine matches so far - to make the team win," MI's Tilak Varma said before the match.
Hardik Pandya-led GT would look for winning way as they were wounded by Punjab Kings (PBKS) in their last outing, which put a halt to their five-game winning streak.
An inconsistent batting department, especially top-order has been GT's thorn in the flesh throughout the tournament so far and it's time the IPL newcomers fix the issue going into the business end of the league.
MI, on the other hand, are placed last and are already out of the tournament after registering eight consecutive defeats. But the Rohit Sharma-led side would heave a sigh of relief after finally registering their first win of the tournament, a five-wicket win over Rajasthan Royals.
Pitch Report
"This is a beautiful wicket, as good as what it was last night. Prakash Adhav (curator) has been on record to say that he treats this wicket like it's his baby. I don't talk about the dimensions any more as these guys aren't scared. There were 23 sixes hit on this ground last night, quite a few of them registering over 100m. We are going to see a great surface, we are going to see a vacuum of an outfield and what we want to see is more sixes," Kevin Pietersen analyses the Brabourne stadium pitch.
Gujarat Titans' playing XI:
Wriddhiman Saha(w), Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan, Hardik Pandya(c), David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Pradeep Sangwan, Lockie Ferguson, Alzarri Joseph, Mohammed Shami.
Mumbai Indians Playing XI:
Rohit Sharma (c), Ishan Kishan (w), Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Tim David, Kieron Pollard, Daniel Sams, Murugan Ashwin, Kumar Kartikeya, Jasprit Bumrah, Riley Meredith.
