IPL 2021: David Gower predicts the winner of the tournament

Former England cricketer David Gower reckoned that Mumbai Indians have every chance to go on and win the 2021 edition of the Indian Premier League. The second leg of the IPL 2021 is set to get underway on Sunday, September 19 with the match between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

MI are the defending champions and are also the winner of five IPL titles. Rohit Sharma has been leading the team efficiently ever since he took over the Mumbai team’s leadership from Ricky Ponting in 2013. Even this time around, Gower backed them to lift the trophy.

David Gower makes his pick

“Mumbai Indians always win it don’t they? However, they start, they always win it in the end,” Gower was quoted as saying to cricket.com.

In the 2021 IPL, MI are straining at the middle of the points table with eight points from seven games. However, wins in their previous two games against CSK and Rajasthan Royals should give them confidence.

On May 4, their game against Sunrisers Hyderabad had to be postponed due to emergence of COVID-19 in the team camps. The game will now be played on October 8.

In the meantime, Gower also went down the memory lane and recalled the times when he watched the Kolkata Knight Riders play at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata. He said that KKR team owner and veteran Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan invited him to watch the game.

“The only game I’ve ever seen live was in Kolkata a couple of years ago. The Kolkata Knight Riders were playing at that fabulous ground Eden Gardens, where I played Test cricket of course,” he added.

“I was invited along into the den by Shahrukh Khan, which is an extraordinary experience as well. That’s my one live experience and it provides a great atmosphere with all the crowds in,” Gower said.

As far as KKR are concerned, the team, led by Eoin Morgan, are languishing at seventh in the points table. The Men in Gold and Purple have won two out of seven games and need a few wins to climb the ladder in the points table.