GT vs MI Preview, IPL 2025: Hardik Pandya Returns as Mumbai Indians Face Gujarat Titans in Crucial Clash
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Hardik Pandya’s Return as Mumbai Indians’ Captain
Hardik Pandya will return to lead the Mumbai Indians (MI) in their next match against the Gujarat Titans (GT). His comeback will bring the MI side the essential balance it needs. This crucial IPL 2025 match is going to take place on Saturday. Both the teams are looking for their first victory of the season. In the opening encounters, both the teams have suffered losses.
Mumbai Indians’ Struggles in the Opening Match
On one side, Mumbai Indians faced a four-wicket defeat against Chennai Super Kings (CSK). Their trend of losing the opening match in IPL keeps on continuing with this defeat. On the other side, the Gujarat Titans lost the match against the Punjab Kings in a high-scoring match by just 11 runs.
After their first match, Mumbai Indians got an almost a week-long break. They took this opportunity to regroup themselves by engaging in team-bonding activities at the Jamnagar facility of Reliance. In the last match, every MI fan felt the absence of their legendary players Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya. Without their presence, the team exposed its weaknesses in bowling and lower-order batting.
Hardik Pandya is undoubtedly the most complete pack-bowling all-rounder that the Indian Cricket Team have in the present. The Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad is famous for its batting-friendly pitch. In the last season, in the very first match that was played on this ground, a total of 475 runs were scored by both the teams. These conditions will be beneficial for Mumbai Indian’s batters who struggled greatly in the sluggish pitch of Chepauk in the last match.
Bowling Concerns for Both Teams
However, Mumbai’s Indian unit still has a lot of concerns regarding its bowling attack. Their key bowler in the absence of Bumrah is Mohammed Siraj. In the opening match, he alone conceded 54 runs, thus, it is natural to question his effectiveness in the death overs. From the Gujarat Titans side, too, only two key bowlers are bowling well: Kagiso Rabada and Rashid Khan. The Gujarat Titans’ side lacks experienced Indian pacers who know Indian pitches well. In such circumstances, the team will rely heavily on Kagiso Rabada and Rashid Khan.
Another familiarity in both the teams is their constant struggles with overseas player combinations. Ryan Rickelton is the only wicket-keeping batsman available for MI, thus, they will have to rely heavily on him. Whereas in the batting unit, the team is facing issues due to the prolonged poor form of Suryakumar Yadav and the inconsistency in Rohit Sharma’s batting.
Gujarat Titans’ Key Player and Strategy
For the Gujarat Titans, the current form of their captain, Shubhman Gill, will be the key to their success in this season. To reduce the workload on Rashid and Rabada, the team management might also consider including Glenn Phillips, an off-spin option, in the team in place of Sherfane Rutherford.
Overall Head-to-Head Record
| Matches | GT Wins | MI Wins | GT Win % | MI Win % |
| 5 | 3 | 2 | 60% | 40% |
GT vs MI at Narendra Modi Stadium
| Total Matches Played | GT Wins | MI Wins |
| 3 | 3 | 0 |
Squads:
Gujarat Titans: Shubman Gill, Jos Buttler, Sai Sudharsan, Glenn Phillips, Shahrukh Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Washington Sundar, Rashid Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Ishant Sharma, Jayant Yadav, Mahipal Lomror, Sherfane Rutherford, Karim Janat, Gerald Coetzee, Kulwant Khejroliya, Anuj Rawat, Kumar Kushagra, Arshad Khan, Gurnoor Brar, Nishant Sindhu, Manav Suthar.
Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya (c), Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Ryan Rickelton (wk), Robin Minz, Shrijith Krishnan (wk), Bevon Jacobs, Naman Dhir, Will Jacks, Mitchell Santner, Raj Angad Bawa, Corbin Bosch, Vignesh Puthur, Deepak Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult, Reece Topley, Karn Sharma, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Arjun Tendulkar, Ashwani Kumar, VS Penmetsa.
Read Also:- GT vs PBKS IPL 2025: Punjab Kings Defeat Gujarat Titans in a Thrilling Clash
Match Details:
- Match: Gujarat Titans vs Mumbai Indians
- Venue: Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad
- Time: 7:30 PM IST
IPL 2025 Points Table
| Rank | Team | PTS | GP | W | L | NR | NRR |
| 1 | RCB | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | +2.137 |
| 2 | LSG | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | +0.963 |
| 3 | PBKS | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | +0.550 |
| 4 | CSK | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | +0.493 |
| 5 | DC | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | +0.371 |
| 6 | SRH | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | -0.128 |
| 7 | KKR | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | -0.308 |
| 8 | MI | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | -0.493 |
| 9 | GT | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | -0.550 |
| 10 | RR | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | -1.882 |
