Rohit Sharma departs after being caught and bowled by Hardik Pandya. It was an expected wicket as the ball was causing enough trouble, and Rohit appeared uneasy facing it. Pandya delivered a quick ball at a speed of 144.2 kilometers per hour, hitting the pitch hard and getting it to straighten.
Rohit attempted to play a tucking shot but closed his bat face early, resulting in a leading edge that went straight up. Hardik Pandya made no mistake in catching it, thus winning the battle between the two skippers.
Mumbai Indians won the toss and elected to field first. Jofra Archer remained absent for the fifth time in a row due to illness, and Riley Meredith returned to the squad in his place. Gujarat Titans fielded an unchanged squad from their previous match, in which they staged a miraculous comeback against the Lucknow Super Giants.
Arjun Tendulkar got an early breakthrough by dismissing Wriddhiman Saha, while Piyush Chawla bowled out Hardik Pandya off the first ball in the opening over after the powerplay. Shubman Gill kept the run rate high during the powerplay, scoring a quick 56 off 34 balls.
However, after his dismissal, David Miller and Abhinav Manohar set the stage for a big finish. Manohar departed after scoring 42 off 21 balls, while Miller scored 46 off 22 balls before getting out. Rahul Tewatia then smashed 20 runs in just five balls, pushing Gujarat Titans to a formidable total of 207/6 in 20 overs.
Caught & Bowled!@hardikpandya7 wins the battle of the captains 😉#MI lose Rohit Sharma early in the chase.#TATAIPL | #GTvMI pic.twitter.com/wmZ3baAbjj
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 25, 2023
In response, Mumbai Indians struggled to build momentum in their innings. Hardik Pandya and Mohammed Shami strangled them in the powerplay, and Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmad followed suit, taking wickets at regular intervals.