GUJARAT LOOK TO CONTINUE DOMINANCE FOR TOP TWO SPOT

MI VS GT AT MUMBAI

· QUALIFICATION CRITERIA – Gujarat are currently sitting at 16 points and a win from remaining 3 games should be enough to get them through. Mumbai, who are fourth, can go up to third with this win. Two wins from the remaining 3 games should be enough to get them through if they can repair their NRR a little in the upcoming games.

· PREVIOUS ENCOUNTER – Playing at Ahmedabad, being put into bat first, Gujarat posted a mammoth 207/6 on the back of Gill, Miller and Manohar’s knocks. However, Tewatia’s 20 runs of 5 balls stole the show. Coming to chase a mammoth 208 to win, Mumbai just couldn’t put up a show at all. They collapsed to the quality spin of Afghani duo Noor and Rashid. Mumbai could only manage 152/9, as they lost by 55 Runs.

· TEAM INFO – Mumbai have got their rhythm back and they are in a decent position at the moment, but they are going to meet the team of the tournament. Hardik Pandya will have memories as he walks to Mumbai and it could very well be the emotions playing a big role in a high-scoring encounter. Rohit Sharma’s form has been a concern for Mumbai, but Suryakumar Yadav’s knocks have covered it all. With both teams coming from a winning momentum, leaving the winning and losing aside, we are in for a treat of a high-scoring contest on the small Wankhede Ground.

· Head-to-Head - Played - 2; Won by GT – 1; Won by MI – 1

· MI possible 12 – R Sharma, I Kishan, C Green, S Yadav, T David, N Wadhera, C Jordan, P Chawla, A Madhwal, K Kartikeya, J Behrendorff, R Singh

· GT possible 12 – W Saha, S Gill, H Pandya, V Shankar, D Miller, A Manohar, R Tewatia, R Khan, M Sharma, N Ahmad, M Shami, A Joseph

· Pitch & Weather Report – The pitch at Wankhede Stadium is a wonderful track to bat on. The batters can hit through the line right from the start of their innings. Short boundaries on either side help the batters and fans can expect a high-scoring affair on Saturday. The temperature in Mumbai is expected to hover between 28 to 34 degrees Celsius. It will stay humid throughout the day. Toss and dew will be a big deciding factor in this game.

· Match Prediction – It goes without saying that Gujarat Titans under the leadership of Hardik Pandya and guidance of Ashish Nehra has been a stand out team. Their team environment has been incredible and all that we have been able to see is them, smiling and enjoying every moment. Possibly, that’s the main reason for their success, although one can argue that they haven’t been put under serious pressure as of now, but that is something that we will get to know only with time. I honestly feel that Gujarat Titans is too good a team and their balance is incredible for most surfaces and ground, hence, this one is going to be celebrated with Fafda-Jalebi along with some Garba in a Gujarati dominated Aamchi Mumbai.

FAN COMMENTS

· “If I say that I have been a fan of this sport cricket for a long time, I would certainly be lying. But the Oman Observer has done a great job in creating sufficient anxiety for me to do a sufficient amount of research. I was shocked to see that Oman has had an international cricket team for a while and it has been around a few Cricket World Cups and Oman are ranked in top 50 in the world. Just disappointed to not see many locals representing the flag of Oman, but I am sure it will happen with time.” – Eng Saeed al Rashdi, 46, General Manager, Omani.

· “I have always undermined the people playing on the roadside in the heat on early weekend mornings. But now I do understand through this column that this is one of the top games of the world. One question which stays unanswered is, why hasn’t this sport been added as a sport to young Omani schools, if it seriously has so much scope.” – Dr Fahad bin Mahmood al Abri, 39, Entrepreneur, Omani.

· “I am a huge fan of Gujarat Titans and I am hoping that even this year the Gujarat Titans will win another trophy and stamp their dominance in Indian cricket. Looking forward to BCCI bringing MS Dhoni and Ashish Nehra in the coaching or advisory panel of the Indian team. What they have achieved is not believable and our players need to learn from him. Maybe lots of youngsters in the Indian team for the 50 over World Cup.” – Rajesh Pandey, 52, Asst General Manager, Indian.

· “I feel that there is a lot of room for growth of cricket in Oman but I don’t see the players from lower divisions picked for even trials despite their consistent performances. Is it their mistake that a company playing in the lower division gave them a job? Hope my request is heard by important people. I don’t play hard ball cricket, but I am big fan of this game and I hear that a lot of people read this column and maybe we can have a good premier league in Oman with big stars coming to play here.” – Rakesh Sharma, 32, Tennex Cricketer, Indian.

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