Big picture: Mumbai's batting vs Titans' bowling
So this is essentially a battle between Mumbai's powerful batters and Titans' wily bowlers.
Table-toppers Gujarat Titans possess a lethal bowling attack, spearheaded by Mohammed Shami and Rashid Khan who, along with Chennai Super Kings' Tushar Deshpande, jointly sit atop the wicket-takers' chart this season with 19 scalps each.
Shami has consistently troubled batters with the new ball, with captain Hardik Pandya giving him good support from the other end. Rashid, meanwhile, gets his support from fellow Afghan wristspinner Noor Ahmad, as the two chip away in the middle overs.
A win on Friday will secure Titans a top-two finish in the league stage, while Mumbai Indians - who moved from No. 8 into the top four with their win against RCB - can ill afford a slip-up in a congested table.
Recent results
Mumbai Indians WLWWL (last five matches, most recent first)
Gujarat Titans WWLWW
Team news: Tilak Varma fit again
After missing Mumbai's last two games with a hamstring niggle, Varma is fit to play again against Titans.
Impact Player strategy
With the exception of Varma, who will start if they bat first or come in as Impact Player for Akash Madhwal if they are chasing, Mumbai are likely to stick with the same team that beat RCB.
Mumbai Indians (probable XII): 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Ishan Kishan (wk), 3 Suryakumar Yadav, 4 Tilak Varma, 5 Cameron Green, 6 Nehal Wadhera, 7 Tim David, 8 Chris Jordan, 9 Piyush Chawla, 10 Jason Behrendorff, 11 Kumar Kartikeya, 12 Akash Madhwal
Titans are also unlikely to make any changes, with Alzarri Joseph continuing in Josh Little's absence.
Gujarat Titans (probable XII): 1 Shubman Gill, 2 Wriddhiman Saha (wk), 3 Hardik Pandya (capt), 4 Vijay Shankar, 5 David Miller, 6 Abhinav Manohar, 7 Rahul Tewatia, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Alzarri Joseph, 10 Noor Ahmad, 11 Mohammed Shami, 12 Mohit Sharma
Stats that matter
- Mumbai could potentially target Joseph. Across all T20s, Rohit Sharma scores against him at a strike rate of 233.33 (56 runs in 24 balls) without getting dismissed. Suryakumar Yadav, too, has a favourable match-up against him: 52 runs at 236.36, one dismissal.
- Rashid has dismissed Rohit three times across six T20 innings. But Rohit has also taken him for 43 in 29 balls.
- Kishan has a strike rate of 100 against Shami but has never been dismissed by the seamer in 42 balls.
Pitch and conditions
The Wankhede Stadium has been a batting paradise, and with dew expected, the toss assumes more importance as both teams may want to chase.
Quotes
"I think you are in danger unless you make an assessment of what is in front of you. Given what has happened previously, to make ill-guided judgements on what's likely to happen in the game. What we must do is react to whatever the conditions are and then make an assessment, whether we are batting first or actually batting second."
Vikram Solanki on big totals being chased down at the Wankhede and if put in to bat, Gujarat Titans need to post a score significantly more than 200.
The big question
Where will Mumbai Indians finish at the end of the league stage?
697 votesIn top two
Third or fourth
Fifth or below
Abhimanyu Bose is a sub-editor with ESPNcricinfo
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