The Cricketer takes a look at the next fixture in the 2022 Indian Premier League season
Gujarat Titans take on Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League
The match will be played Friday, May 6, with play starting at 7.30pm local time (3pm GMT).
The teams will face off at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai.
Titans are flying high at the top of the table and have only lost two matches of 10 in this year's competition. Hardik Pandya's side have shown the form of champions in recent matches, not least in their last-gasp victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad last Wednesday.
Stunning hitting from Rahul Tewatia (40* from 21 balls) and Rashid Khan (31* from 11) saw Gujarat home with four sixes in the last over. Rashid Khan's continued development as a truly elite death-over hitter has improved an already strong Titans team that must surely be planning for the knockout stage already.
However, they were undone by Liam Livingstone's Punjab Kings, failing to an eight-wicket loss last time out. The inconsistency of their middle order has been the only question mark for GT going into the final stages.
Mumbai Indians' IPL campaign could not have been more different. Eight losses from nine matches is a dismal return for the five-time champions but they have now at least put a win on the board after beating Rajasthan by five wickets on Saturday.
Perhaps the only ray of sunlight is the form of 19-year-old prodigy Talik Varma, who hit 61 from 33 balls and top-scored in their last two matches against CSK and LSG. Varma finds himself sandwiched between IPL captains Hardik Pandya and Sanju Samson in eighth on the list of IPL top run-scorers.
Hardik Pandya was an IPL winner during his time with Mumbai Indians (Punit Paranjpe/AFP via Getty Images)
A most interesting passage of play will be MI's opening quicks – Jasprit Bumrah and Daniel Sams – up against Gujarat's top order of Wriddhiman Saha, Shubman Gill, and captain Pandya.
The key to Titans' success this season has been the platform these three have given the middle order, so much so that the likes of David Miller and Rahul Tewatia have not be tasked with anything more strenuous than some late order hitting in recent matches.
Elsewhere, Tim David's potential return to form is great news for Mumbai, giving themselves a truly world class finisher alongside the veteran Pollard. Rashid Khan against David will be appointment viewing.
These two have never played against each other in the IPL.
A warm day is expected in Mumbai, with highs of 33 degrees Celsius, falling to 30 degrees by the first ball of the match.
Gujarat Titans: Hardik Pandya, Shubman Gill, Rashid Khan, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Mohammad Shami, Lockie Ferguson, Abhinav Sadarangani, Rahul Tewatia, Noor Ahmad, R Sai Kishore, Dominic Drakes, Jayant Yadav, Viijay Shankar, Darshan Nalkande, Yash Dayal, Alzarri Joseph, Prandeep Sangwan, David Miller, Wriddhiman Saha, Matthew Wade, Gurkeerat Singh, Varun Aaron
Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Suryakumar Yadav, Kieron Pollard, Ishan Kishan, Dewald Brevis, Basil Thampi, Murugan Ashwin, Jaydev Unadkat, Mayank Markande, N Tilak Varma, Sanjay Yadav, Jofra Archer, Daniel Sams, Tymal Mills, Tim David, Riley Meredith, Mohammad Arshad Khan, Anmolpreet Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Rahul Buddhi, Hrithik Shokeen, Arjun Tendulkar, Aryan Juyal, Fabian Allen
It has been a desperate campaign for Mumbai (Punit Paranjpe/AFP via Getty Images)
Gujarat Titans: Wriddhiman Saha, Shubman Gill, Hardik Pandya, David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Abhinav Manohar, Lockie Ferguson, Alzarri Joseph, Yash Dayal, Mohammed Shami.
Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Tim David, Hrithik Shokeen, Kieron Pollard, Daniel Sams, Jaydev Unadkat, Riley Meredith, Jasprit Bumrah.
The bookies make Gujarat Titans favourites for this match with 10/11 odds. MI are evens (1/1) to win tomorrow.
This is top versus bottom and an upset is unlikely, even if MI did finally win in their last game. Gujarat Titans are the most consistent side in the competition without being the most exciting, but they have shown that they know how to win close games so expect them to win this one.
In the UK, Sky Sports have exclusive rights to this year's tournament, with matches available on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Cricket.
Fans in India can watch all of the action on Star Sports.
Elsewhere in the world, viewers in Australia can watch the IPL on Fox Sports while in New Zealand, Sky Sport will provide coverage.
Willow TV and Flow Sports will broadcast the tournament in the United States and the Caribbean, respectively.
Fans in MENA can catch the action on beIN Sports while in South Africa, SuperSport have the rights.
The IPL can also be streamed on Disney+ and Hotstar in certain areas.
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