IPL 10, Match 35, GL v MI Preview: Lions in way of Mumbai Indians claim to top spot

The Mumbai Indians were marching in some fashion towards the playoffs. With 6 consecutive wins this season, they had emerged as the team to beat in the tournament. However, their storming march was halted midway when the Rising Pune Supergiant stunned them in the previous encounter. Despite the defeat, the MI camp would back themselves against the Gujarat Lions at Rajkot in their next fixture.

The hosts of the match, Gujarat Lions, have had a topsy-turvy ride thus far. The most recent form has been good for them though. A marathon stand between Suresh Raina and Aaron Finch helped the Lions upset the Royal Challengers Bangalore in Bengaluru recently. Moreover, the bowling that had been their weakest link in the tournament thus far, came good on the night against RCB.

The two teams had earlier faced off in Mumbai this season. It was the MI team that had come out as the winning team. Skipper Rohit Sharma had led the team from the front and it was the first game of the season when Rohit had got into the double digits. A lot has changed since then for both the teams and hence it would be unfair to call a team as favourites to win this one.

Toss: Gujarat Lions won the toss and opted to bat

Rohit Sharma: “We would have bowled first. Looks a little dry than what we have seen here. The feeling is good among the team. We still got to come out and do the basics right. Malinga and Krunal replace Johnson and Karn Sharma.”

Suresh Raina: “We are going to bat first. The wicket looks dry. We have done really well in all departments. Irfan Pathan is playing in place of Nathu Singh.”

Playing XI:

Gujarat Lions: Aaron Finch, Brendon McCullum, Suresh Raina(c), Ishan Kishan, Ravindra Jadeja, Dinesh Karthik(w), James Faulkner, Andrew Tye, Irfan Pathan, Basil Thampi, Ankit Soni

Mumbai Indians: Parthiv Patel(w), Jos Buttler, Nitish Rana, Rohit Sharma(c), Krunal Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya, Harbhajan Singh, Mitchell McClenaghan, Lasith Malinga, Jasprit Bumrah

Focus will be on

Dinesh Karthik

Gujarat Lions wicket-keeper Dinesh Karthik had started off his campaign this season on a high. The way he had started off on a high seemed to have answered the middle-order woes of the Lions. Karthik has continued to do well with the bat and has a fifty to his name in the season as well. However, he has largely been inconsistent in the tournament. At crunch situations, he has succumbed to pressure. The team would want his experience to come in handy in the match against Mumbai.

Rohit Sharma

Mumbai skipper Rohit Sharma finally got back to fine form with a brilliant fifty to his name against the Rising Pune Supergiant in the previous match. His efforts were not enough to win the game for his team but on the personal front, Rohit would feel a lot more confident now. In the season, he has only two scores in excess of 40. For a batsman of his calibre, the numbers are quite startling. The MI skipper would like to back up the good show with another one in the match against the Lions.

Jos Buttler

MI opener Jos Buttler has been a threatening batsman in the tour order. He has the ability to take the attack on the opposition right from the word go. On his day, he can take the opposition bowlers to the cleaners in the powerplay. He has been successful in doing so on quite a few occasions this year while opening with Parthiv Patel. Considering the inexperienced bowling lineup of Gujarat, Buttler would fancy his chances of getting off to a flyer.

Team Combinations:

Gujarat Lions

The Gujarat Lions got back to the winning ways with their batting and bowling clicking in tandem. Ankit Soni has been a valuable addition to the team with his leg spinners. Nathu Singh and Basil Thampi have been bowling with pace and have added good firepower to the bowling department. The team finally played both James Faulkner and Andrew Tye in the previous game. The move seemed to have worked really well for them.

In the batting department, they tried a new opening combination of Ishan Kishan and Brendon McCullum. The move was not very fruitful but the management would be tempted to continue with the same another time. Aaron Finch and Suresh Raina have been magnificent in the middle order. Dinesh Karthik has shown brilliance in spells but is yet to hit consistency.

Mumbai Indians

The Mumbai Indians have always believed in sticking to their tried and tested combinations in the past. They rarely tinker with the combinations that seem to be working for them. MI lost their previous game against Rising Pune Supergiant but the defeat was very marginal. Hence, it is very unlikely that the team will make many changes to their lineup. There might be only one possible change if Krunal Pandya gets fit in time.

Pandya had to miss out on the previous match due to a slight niggle and Karn Sharma had replaced him in the lineup. Despite having performed well, Karn might well be replaced by Krunal. Barring this, the team looks settled. Lasith Malinga is likely to sit out for some more time with Mitchell Johnson bowling well with the new ball. In the batting department, they have all the batsmen being in good form.

StatAttack:

3 – Number of times both teams have faced each other. Mumbai Indians have won once and the Lions have won twice.

14 – Number of runs needed by Rohit Sharma to complete 4000 runs in IPL. Only Virat Kohli, Gautam Gambhir and Suresh Raina have breached the landmark till now.

167 – Number of sixes hit by Rohit Sharma in IPL – the third most after Suresh Raina (168) and Chris Gayle (262).