Test of wits between 'skipper' Rohit vs 'successor' Pandya - who will beat whom?

MI captain Rohit Sharma (left) and GT skipper Hardik Pandya during their IPL match at Wankhede recently. Pic/Ashish Raje

Like a gathering force, Mumbai Indians (MI) have worked their way through this Indian Premier League, remarkably finding themselves within two wins of adding to their record tally of five crowns.

Bottom of the pile last season and having lost four of their first seven games this time, they were staring elimination in the face halfway through the league phase. But the champion side that they are, they regrouped in time to launch a spectacular fightback that has netted them six wins in their last eight outings.

The latest, by 81 runs against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), helped set up a Qualifier 2 showdown on Friday against holders Gujarat Titans (GT) in the latter's Ahmedabad backyard, the winner earning the right to challenge Chennai Super Kings in the May 28 final. Qualifier 2 will pit Rohit Sharma against the man tipped to replace him as India's T20 captain in the near future.Hardik Pandya, himself a product of the MI talent scouting mechanism, has impressed all-comers with his leadership and man-management skills over the last two years, but as he goes head-to-head with the man under whom he has played the majority of his IPL cricket, he won't be invested in anything beyond the immediate.

GT came unstuck in Qualifier 1 against a combination of a clinical CSK performance and a tacky surface that shackled their free spirit as much as it did their minds. A return to the Narendra Modi Stadium, where they have erected several tall structures, will be a welcome bonus, though GT won't be unaware of the muscle, and the intrepid attitude that MI boast in no small measure.

On only a slightly truer strip than 24 hours earlier, MI kept going hard at LSG in the Eliminator, their 182 comfortably above par. That they got there with only one man (Cameron Green) topping 41 spoke of the depth of their big-hitting group which could, however, run into a tartar in Mohammed Shami and Rashid Khan. The Indian quick and the Afghan leggie are the leading wicket-takers with 26 and 25 scalps respectively; that they strike at different stages of the innings was one of the key reasons for GT stacking up 10 wins in 14 league ties.

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The other vital contributor has been Shubman Gill, second in the Orange Cap race with 722 runs, nearly 250 of which have come in the last three matches. It's around this trio that Gujarat will again base their campaign, aware that there is a fragility to MI's bowling despite the exceptional recent form of Akash Madhwal, the five-wicket hero against LSG.

MI are also due a few Playoff runs from their skipper.

Rohit's average of 16 in 20 such matches is hardly in keeping with his class or pedigree.

Two
No. of times MI have beaten GT in the three IPL matches they've played till date