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The Mumbai Indians (MI) were reeling at 46/3 after six overs against the Gujarat Titans (GT), following a shaky start against a disciplined bowling attack.
Batting first, MI lost early wickets as the GT bowlers made effective use of the new ball. Debutant Danish Malewar was the first to depart, trapped leg-before wicket. Quinton de Kock, coming off a century in the previous match, was dismissed soon after, caught and bowled by Kagiso Rabada.
Suryakumar Yadav followed back to the pavilion, bowled by a sharp inswinger from Rabada. The South African pacer led the charge with the ball, picking up three crucial wickets to put MI under pressure early in the innings. At the end of the powerplay, MI were struggling at 46/3.
With key batters like Hardik Pandya and Tilak Varma still to come, MI will look to rebuild and aim for a competitive total, ideally crossing the 200-run mark to challenge GT.
Earlier, after winning the toss, Shubman Gill opted to bowl first.
“It looks like a decent wicket, honestly. There was a bit of dew in the last match, so if that happens again, it would make more sense to chase. It’s always good to have a target and try to chase it down,” Gill said.
MI skipper Hardik Pandya admitted that he would have preferred to bowl first as well. He also confirmed the debuts of Krish Bhagat and Danish Malewar as MI continue their search for consistency this season.
“We would have fielded as well. It’s obviously an important game for us as a group. We had to regroup and reflect on what the Mumbai Indians stand for and the kind of cricket we want to play. There have been several discussions, and the players are looking forward to the game. We need to play better cricket overall. I can’t pinpoint one factor — as I’ve said earlier, we win together and we lose together,” Hardik Pandya said.
Confirmed Playing XI for both teams:
Gujarat Titans (Playing XI): Shubman Gill(c), Sai Sudharsan, Jos Buttler(w), Washington Sundar, Glenn Phillips, Shahrukh Khan, Rashid Khan, Mohammed Siraj, Kagiso Rabada, Prasidh Krishna, Ashok Sharma
Mumbai Indians (Playing XI): Danish Malewar, Quinton de Kock(w), Naman Dhir, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya(c), Tilak Varma, Sherfane Rutherford, Mitchell Santner, Krish Bhagat, Jasprit Bumrah, AM Ghazanfar
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