Having previously triumphed in the first two meetings on their respective home fields during the league stage, Mumbai Indians (MI) and Gujarat Titans (GT) will face off once more this year in the most important semi-final clash of IPL 2023 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Friday.
The final will be held at the same ground on Sunday, with the winner facing Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
Most successful team vs the defending champions
It’s a game of life or death for both sides since the victor will play Chennai Super Kings in the championship game. The defending champions will have their task cut out against the most successful team in the history of the tournament.
Gujarat Titans will likely be under pressure in a knockout game for the first time in the fledgling franchise’s history. This is the first time they have ever played an IPL game to stay alive after being recently shaken by a loss in Qualifier 1. The top team from the league stage didn’t play like it against Chennai Super Kings, and it now appears that they aren’t completely confident in their starting lineup. Making an error during the playoffs typically has a high cost.
On the other side, the Mumbai Indians are at their best right now. They put on one of their most comprehensive performances in the Eliminator, adding to their four victories in their previous five games in the group rounds. Everyone has unleashed their most lethal self when it comes to batting, while among the bowlers, Piyush Chawla and Jason Behrendorff are producing enough for Akash Madhwal to shine at the very end.
Previous encounters in IPL 2023
Both teams played each other twice during IPL 2023. GT defeated the opposition by 55 runs in Match 35, and Shubman Gill stole the show with a 50-run performance. In the meantime, Noor Ahmad took three wickets in the game for GT. With a 27-run victory over GT in Match 57, MI exacted their retaliation. Suryakumar Yadav scored an unbroken 103 runs off 49 balls throughout the game, and Akash Madhwal claimed three wickets.
GT vs MI head to head in the IPL
Matches played: 3
Gujarat Titans won: 1
Mumbai Indians won: 2
Last result: Mumbai Indians won by 27 runs (Mumbai – May 12, 2023)
The Titans have played seven league games at the venue this season since winning the IPL 2022 final in Ahmedabad, winning five of them and losing three. In addition to a five-run loss to the Delhi Capitals, it fell twice while defending totals against the Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals.
GT overall IPL record in Ahmedabad
Matches played: 8
Won: 5
Lost: 3
Win%: 62.5
Last result: Beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by 34 runs (2023)
Three of the seven games have ended in losses for the teams batting first. After losing the toss in Ahmedabad, the Titans were able to defend three totals despite suffering crushing losses to RR and KKR. It is anticipated that there won’t be much dew on the surface in Ahmedabad, which should make for a belter.
IPL 2023 stats at Ahmedabad
Matches played: 7
The team batting first won: 3
The team batting second won: 4
Average first innings score: 187.28
Highest successful chase: 2017
Most runs in GT vs MI matches
Most wickets in GT vs MI
SKY high
Suryakumar Yadav has a stellar record against Rashid Khan, which not many batters can say about him. The ace MI batter has never been out of the IPL after scoring 67 runs in 47 balls against the elite Afghanistan spinner.
Another SKY ( Akash Madhwal)— The fast bowler has been consistently effective for MI throughout the entire season, and everything seemed to come together in the first Eliminator when he destroyed the LSG batting order. In terms of best-ever numbers in an IPL match, his 5/5 puts him in the same bracket as players like Anil Kumble. Madhwal had three wickets against GT in MI’s most recent game.
Sensational Shubnam
He made it evident from the first game itself that he would have no trouble whatsoever carrying over his form to the IPL. With 722 runs, he has now scored the second-most runs of any Indian in an IPL season, trailing only Virat Kohli’s utterly absurd record of 973 runs in IPL 2016.
The Rashid factor
Rashid Khan has been a rock for Gujarat in every department. As hard as it is to score boundaries against him, the level of difficulty gets higher to beat him when he is fielding at the boundaries. And to make matters worse, he will hit boundaries at ease in the end. The match winner Rashid Khan will be the player on whom Gujarat will bank the most.
MI Skipper Rohit Sharma on Madhwal:
“He (Akash Madhwal) was part of the team last year as a support bowler, and once Jofra was gone, I knew he had the skills and the character to do the job for us. Over the years we have seen many guys coming in from Mumbai Indians and playing for India. It is important to make them (youngsters) feel special and make them feel part of the team, my job is to just make them comfortable in the middle. They are very clear in their roles about what they need to do for the team and that’s what you want”
The IPL semi-finals in the biggest stadium of the world. The sides battling it out for a place in finals are the monstrous MI and the gigantic GT. It cannot get bigger than this. Even the biggest celebrities are taking social media by storm. All roads will lead to only one destination – Narendra Modi Stadium at Ahmedabad. Moreover, there are enough cinematic elements for this clash After all, a former student is up against his ex-mentor!
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