MI vs GT: A little more than a year ago, Hardik Pandya found himself in unfamiliar territory: receiving boos from the very crowd that had once embraced him as their own. The move from Gujarat Titans (GT) to Mumbai Indians (MI) for the IPL 2024 season drew the ire of GT fans, who regarded it as an act of outright betrayal. Throughout the season, the pressure, scrutiny, and antipathy never let up, culminating in MI finishing right at the bottom of the table.
Now, exactly a year later, Pandya returns to Ahmedabad, the very place from where the whirlwind of bitter criticism began. This time, however, he arrives as a national hero for his vital role in India’s victory in the 2024 ICC T20 World Cup and just a few days back in the Champions Trophy. The big question remains if the Ahmedabad fan will just forgive and forget or hold on to history when MI battles it out against GT at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Saturday night?
A New Season, A Fresh Start?
Mumbai Indians head coach Mahela Jayawardene said he was holding faith that time has healed.” Fans are passionate, and in sports, emotions run high. But Hardik has had an incredible year with much success for India, and I think people will now look at the bigger picture and enjoy a wonderful game of cricket.”
Whether the fans have really moved on or not, the chief concern for Pandya will be MI’s game. Their franchise is well-known for slow starts to the IPL seasons and having already lost their opener, MI shall be eager to avert yet another early disappointment. It shall be hard-fought against GT, who almost managed to pull off the second-highest chase in IPL history versus the Punjab Kings in their last match.
MI vs GT: Star Players and Tactical Warfare
Pandya will now be back center stage with bat and ball after missing MI’s first match, but there would also be eyes on Rohit Sharma, who had a rather sorrowful beginning to the season, being dismissed for a duck in Chennai. His performance will be crucial against GT’s pace battery led by Mohammed Siraj and Kagiso Rabada and will determine MI’s fate alongside opening partner Ryan Rickelton.
This middle order for MI, with Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, and Pandya himself, will have to contend against GT’s powerful spin attack that includes Rashid Khan and R Sai Kishore. With the dew factor on Ahmedabad pitches, the spinners would be at a disadvantage in the second innings, so if MI wins the toss, it could again be a huge factor in determining which way the game goes.
GT under Shubman Gill appear a dangerous side, notwithstanding the defeat in their last match. Their squad has been bolstered by signings like Jos Buttler, Sherfane Rutherford, and Kagiso Rabada. Resorting to wide yorkers, a tactic that was amply exploited by Punjab Kings’ Vyshak Vijaykumar, could be a chink in their armor that MI would want to play on.
What to Expect at Narendra Modi Stadium
Ahmedabad is still blazing hot at the moment and has dew in the evening; most of the teams will prefer chasing. Interestingly, all 5 encounters of GT and MI have ended with the team batting first winning those matches.
MI vs GT: Team Watch
Gujarat Titans
Injury/Unavailable: No injury problems in GT.
Tactics & Matchups: Sherfane Rutherford gets a decent performance, but against Vyshak Vijaykumar, the troublesome one has begun, but GT is still expected to give him one last go before they move on to Glenn Phillips. The overseas trio of Jos Buttler, Rashid Khan, and Kagiso Rabada remains unchanged. Washington Sundar could take Arshad Khan’s place. An electrifying contest to watch is that of Suryakumar Yadav and Rashid Khan going head to head.
Predicted 12: Shubman Gill (C), P.Push.Wickett Keeper, Sai Sudharsan, Shahrukh Khan, Sherfane Rutherford, Washington Sundar, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, R Sai Kishore, Kagiso Rabada, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj
Mumbai Indians
Injury/Unavailability: Jasprit Bumrah’s unavailability is still unclear.
Tactics & Matchups: Hardik Pandya would replace Robin Minz while Vignesh Puthur could feature as an Impact Player. Other than that, no major changes are expected. Mitchell Santner and Puthur would be pivotal to put Buttler and Rutherford under pressure, while early strikes by Trent Boult against Gill and Sai Sudharsan will be very crucial.
Probable XII:
Ryan Rickelton (wk), Rohit Sharma, Will Jacks, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya (C), Naman Dhir, Mitchell Santner, Deepak Chahar, Trent Boult, Satyanarayana Raju Vignesh Puthur
Did You Know?
Pandya led GT to the IPL title in the first season of the tournament in 2022, with a match-winning performance in the final at this very venue. He came quite close to repeating the exercise yet again the following year, but narrowly missed out.
It was here in 2024 where MI’s full-time captaincy began with a slim defeat of six runs, after which eyebrows were raised over his leadership.
GT had the worst middle-order numbers in IPL 2024 and remains top heavy in 2025, struggling to build momentum in chases.
Spinners in Ahmedabad have had very different fates throughout the innings. First-innings bowlers perform considerably better than those bowling in the second innings due to dew in the last five IPL games in this location.
Quotes from the Camp
Parthiv Patel (GT Assistant Coach): “No one talks about how well Shreyas (Iyer) batted and how Shashank Singh finished the innings. The conversation is always about how the bowlers performed in the final overs; that’s what makes the difference in T20 cricket.”
Mahela Jayawardene (MI Coach): “Vignesh Puthur is still learning. Whether it was the first game or the tenth, we always knew he would play for Mumbai. His skill set suited Chennai conditions, and we made that call.”
MI vs GT: Final Thoughts
It might happen that MI and GT meet at Ahmedabad for a nostalgic encounter. Yet, for Pandya, the situation will be about silencing critics with performance rather than crowd redemption. MI would try to bounce back after their first loss and GT would look to confirm their position; so Saturday promises to be a high-stakes affair, not without the drama.
All eyes will be on the Narendra Modi Stadium- will it bring back his former hero or remind him of the choices he made? source cricbuzz
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