IPL 2023: Defending champions Gujarat Titans to face upbeat Mumbai Indians in Qualifier 2

GT captain Hardik Pandya (L), MI captain Rohit Sharma (R) (Pic: AFP)

After Akash Madhwal's game-winning bowling performance against Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL Eliminator at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Wednesday, five-time champions Mumbai Indians would be confident about their chances against defending champions Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 2 to be played in the world's largest stadium here on Friday.

Mumbai Indians, riding on magical figures of five for five produced by Madhwal, defeated LSG with an 81-run win, thus securing their spot in the race to finale.

Also Read: IPL 2023: Mumbai eliminate Lucknow

MI's monumental victory against LSG proves that the team can lift their game when most required. Having ended the previous edition of IPL in the last position, Rohit Sharma's team has bounced back this season to remain in contention for a sixth IPL title.

The likes of Cameron Green, Suryakumar Yadav and Tim David have displayed an impressive performance and now form the backbone of the batting department with the young Nehal Wadhera too making a huge impact, and the opening pair of Rohit and Ishan Kishan doing a fair job.

It will be a stern test for Gujarat Titans' bowling attack, led by Mohammad Shami (26 wickets in 15 matches), to get the better of MI's drastically improved batting performance.

Madhwal, who returned a dream spell of 3.3-0-5-5 against LSG, has been a revelation with the ball. Veterans Piyush Chawla (21 wickets in 15 matches) and Jason Behrendorff (14 wickets in 11 matches) have also been impressive, while Chris Jordan also enjoyed a fine outing of 2-1-7-1 in the Eliminator.

Gujarat Titans, defeated in Qualifier 1 by Mahendra Singh Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings, will have one last chance to gather themselves up and put their best foot forward in order to qualify for their second IPL final on the trot.

It will be imperative for the defending champions that their batting clicks in unison, since Shubman Gill and Vijay Shankar have done bulk of the heavy lifting with the bat in the last few games.

Gill might have had an off day against CSK but his two centuries in the closing stages of the league round make him the biggest threat for Mumbai Indians.

The Titans will also expect more with the bat from their captain Hardik Pandya, who is going through a form slump, notching scores of 8, DNB, 8, 4 and 25 in his last five games.

The contest here on Friday night will be the third meeting between GT and MI this season, with both teams winning one game each.

(With PTI inputs)