GT and MI look for first points as Hardik returns to Ahmedabad

By Himanshu Agrawal, Mar 29 (ESPN CRICINFO): Hardik Pandya was at the receiving end of the home fans' ire when he last played an IPL game in Ahmedabad.

Last year, turning up as Mumbai Indians' (MI) captain against Gujarat Titans (GT), a side he had led to a title and back-to-back finals before being traded out, Hardik was booed by fans who had once hailed him as a hero. And now, as it turns out, his first game in IPL 2025 is against GT at the Narendra Modi Stadium.

After missing MI's first game against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) due to an over-rate penalty that carried forward from last season, Hardik is all set to return to action. His presence should help MI regain some of the balance and experience they may have lacked against CSK.

That won't be the only tale of shifting allegiances. Rashid Khan, GT's go-to man since 2022, will be up against a side whose owners have him in their SA20, ILT20 and MLC dressing rooms. Like Rashid, his GT team-mate Kagiso Rabada also represents MI's sister concerns MI Cape Town and MI New York.

Rashid finished both IPL 2023 and 2024 with economy rates above eight an over, having only gone as high as 6.73 in six IPL seasons before that. He started this season by conceding five sixes against Punjab Kings (PBKS), who took him for 48 runs in four overs. GT conceded 243 in that game, on a flat deck in Ahmedabad.

The surface shouldn't be too much different against MI, whose batters should relish it after starting their season on a slow, spin-friendly pitch in Chennai.

New loyalties - Robin Minz

Wicketkeeper-batter Robin Minz might have played for GT last year had he not suffered a bike accident just before IPL 2024. GT replaced him with BR Sharath, and Minz, since then, has moved to MI.

Team news and likely XIIs

How does GT fit in Washington Sundar? He started on the subs bench against PBKS, but was surplus to requirements. Rashid's skill and experience make him indispensable, while R Sai Kishore was GT's standout bowler against PBKS with figures of 3 for 30. As for the batting, the presence of Sai Sudharsan, Rahul Tewatia and Sherfane Rutherford, whom GT used as Impact Sub against PBKS, provide plenty of left-hand options in the top seven. So Washington might have to keep waiting for his chance.

GT fell two big hits short of hunting down 244 against PBKS, and despite their bowlers getting carted around may not make too many changes to a line-up that nearly got them across the line.

Gujarat Titans (probable): 1 Shubman Gill (capt), 2 Sai Sudharsan, 3 Jos Buttler (wk), 4 Sherfane Rutherford, 5 Shahrukh Khan, 6 Rahul Tewatia, 7 Rashid Khan, 8 Arshad Khan, 9 R Sai Kishore, 10 Kagiso Rabada, 11 Mohammed Siraj, 12 Prasidh Krishna.

Against CSK, MI brought in left-arm wristspinner Vignesh Puthur as their Impact Sub to replace Rohit Sharma. Figures of 3 for 32 gave Puthur, on T20 debut, instant recognition. So Pandya for Minz is likely to be MI's only change, with the presence of Mitchell Santner and Deepak Chahar at Nos. 8 and 9 giving them depth on what will probably be another batter-friendly pitch.

Mumbai Indians (probable): 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 Ryan Rickelton (wk), 3 Will Jacks, 4 Suryakumar Yadav, 5 Tilak Varma, 6 Hardik Pandya (capt), 7 Naman Dhir, 8 Mitchell Santner, 9 Deepak Chahar, 10 Trent Boult, 11 Satyanarayana Raju, 12 Vignesh Puthur.

Big question

Both GT and MI have daunting batting line-ups capable of piling up huge scores, the former with an almost 50-50 mix of right- and left-hand batters. If Ahmedabad serves up another belter, another high-scoring thriller could be on the cards.

In the spotlight - Shubman Gill and Suryakumar Yadav

During GT's chase of 244 against PBKS, Shubman Gill bashed 33 off just 14 balls. He hasn't historically started that quickly in T20s, but he stated before the start of the season that he wanted to take the responsibility of maximising the powerplay. While the early aggression was forced on him by the target PBKS set, it will be interesting to see his approach if GT bat first. It could have some bearing on his international selection too.

He was named India's vice-captain for the T20Is against Sri Lanka last year - the first time a full-strength India side had played T20Is after the World Cup - he hasn't played that format since then, partly because India was resting all-format players with Tests and ODIs the main priority in the lead-up to the Champions Trophy. Getting back in the T20I side won't be easy, though, with Gill facing stiff competition from Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal at the top of the order.

Suryakumar Yadav has only scored 119 runs in his last ten T20 innings, while playing for MI, India and Mumbai. Of those runs, 48 came in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy final against Madhya Pradesh. Leading MI against CSK, Suryakumar made 19 off his first 14 balls before slowing down against spin and finishing with 29 off 26. Ahmedabad, where the pitch is likely to be flatter, could be the perfect venue for Suryakumar to regain form.

Pitch and conditions

A hot day is expected in Ahmedabad, with a maximum of 38 degrees Celsius, but the temperatures are expected to drop into the mid-to-high 20s by the time of the match. No rain is expected, but dew is likely to make the pitch - which is expected to be flat to start - to get better for batting in the second innings. Gill had chosen to chase against PBKS with dew in mind, and GT came close despite PBKS piling up 243. Six of the eight games played in Ahmedabad in IPL 2024 were won by the side batting second.

Key stats

- Ahead of GT's match against PBKS, there was plenty of interest around the question of where their new recruit Jos Buttler would bat. He came in at No. 3, with GT choosing not to disturb their opening combination of Gill and Sai Sudharsan. It was only the second time in 107 IPL innings that Buttler had batted at No. 3. He's done so 24 times in all T20s, though, and his srike rate in that position (147.64) is almost the same as his strike rate as opener (147.45).

- Despite expensive IPLs in 2023 and 2024 by his standards, Rashid remains among the tournament's most effective bowlers. Among those with at least 150 wickets in the IPL, only Lasith Malinga has a better average, and only Sunil Narine has a better economy rate.

- Rohit Sharma fell for his 18th duck in the IPL when he was dismissed without scoring against CSK. Among the 30 batters to have been out at least 100 times in the tournament, that is the joint-second-most ducks behind Glenn Maxwell (19).

- Mohammed Siraj is yet to dismiss Rohit in T20s. Across 10 innings, Rohit has scored 74 runs off 55 balls against Siraj and hit him for seven fours and four sixes.

Next three fixtures

After hosting MI on Saturday, GT travelled to Bengaluru and Hyderabad for back-to-back away games on April 2 and 6. They return home after that to play Rajasthan Royals on April 9.

MI, meanwhile, have only a day's gap between this game and their next one. They host Kolkata Knight Riders on Monday, then fly to Lucknow to play Lucknow Super Giants on April 4, before returning home for a game against Royal Challengers Bengaluru on April 7.