Gujarat Titans, after winning the toss and opting to bowl, had a shaky start in the field with three dropped catches in the powerplay, giving Mumbai Indians key reprieves in a high-stakes clash. The first breakthrough came early as Mohammed Siraj dismissed Ryan Rickelton in the very first over. However, Gujarat’s fielding quickly unravelled. Will Jacks was dropped twice — first on zero by Sai Sudharsan off Siraj, and then again on 29 by Siraj himself at short fine leg off Arshad Khan’s bowling. In between, Sai Kishore put down a sitter to give Suryakumar Yadav a life on 10 off Prasidh Krishna. Arshad Khan, who replaced Washington Sundar in the XI, bowled a tight opening over and was rewarded with the wicket of Rohit Sharma for 7, caught at mid-off. Siraj and Prasidh Krishna, despite being aggressive, saw their efforts undermined by poor catching. Shubman Gill, speaking at the toss, confirmed Rabada’s absence and said the South African speedster “needs a few games to get back in the groove”. Gujarat, however, have depth in their attack with six to seven bowling options, including Rashid Khan and Sai Kishore.Hardik Pandya, leading MI, said he was fine with batting first and emphasised the importance of execution and discipline over the full 20 overs. With three early reprieves, MI’s top order has been gifted opportunities — something that could come back to haunt the Titans.
Mumbai Indians (Playing XI): Ryan Rickelton(w), Rohit Sharma, Will Jacks, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya(c), Naman Dhir, Corbin Bosch, Deepak Chahar, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah Gujrat Titans (Playing XI): Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill(c), Jos Buttler(w), Rahul Tewatia, Shahrukh Khan, Rashid Khan, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Arshad Khan, Gerald Coetzee, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna
