(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Published: Thu 25 May 2023, 8:49 PM Last updated: Thu 25 May 2023, 8:50 PM
Inspired by Akash Madhwal's breathtaking bowling performance against Lucknow Super Giants in the Eliminator, five-time IPL champion Mumbai Indians will look for another strong performance when it takes on defending champion Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 2 at Ahmedabad on Friday.
Mumbai Indians, riding on magical figures of five for five from Madhwal at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Wednesday night, knocked out LSG from the race to the final with an 81-run win.
The massive MI victory was a warning to the rivals that it could lift its game even in the absence of star pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Jofra Archer.
Having finished last in the previous edition, Rohit Sharma's men have a chance now to fight for their sixth IPL title.
The likes of Cameron Green, Suryakumar Yadav and Tim David have responded well to the challenges and now form the backbone of the batting department with the young Nehal Wadhera too making a huge impact.
It will be a stern test for the Titans' bowling attack, led by Mohammed Shami (26 wickets in 15 matches), to get the better of MI's batting, which has improved drastically at the business end of the tournament.
Gujarat Titans, outclassed and outgunned in Qualifier 1 by Mahendra Singh Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings, will be hoping to bounce back in style.
It will be imperative for the defending champion that its batting unit clicks since Shubman Gill and Vijay Shankar have done bulk of the scoring in the last few games.
The Titans will also expect more with the bat from captain Hardik Pandya, who is going through a form slump, notching scores of 8, 8, 4 and 25 in his last four innings.
The Titans' lower middle-order lynchpin David Miller too has gone without a fifty this season and also failed to get into double figures in his last three outings.
The contest on Friday night will be the third meeting between GT and MI this season, with both teams winning one game each.
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