MI, GT Look to Notch First Win as Pandya Returns Post Suspension

Hardik Pandya is back in Ahmedabad, the city where he led Gujarat Titans to their maiden IPL title in 2022. Pandya's return to the Narendra Modi Stadium, where he had a tumultuous time last season, will be a significant storyline in Saturday's clash between MI and GT.

Pandya's focus will be on stemming MI's poor starts, which have become a recurring theme in the league. He will be at the center of action, both with the ball and bat, but Rohit Sharma's form will also be crucial. The MI skipper had a duck in the first game and will face a stern test against Mohammed Siraj and Kagiso Rabada.

GT, on the other hand, looks dangerous with new recruits like Jos Buttler, Sherfane Rutherford, and Kagiso Rabada adding to their batting and bowling prowess. However, they were one batter short in the previous XI and their vulnerability to wide yorkers was exposed by Vyshak Vijaykumar.

Key Matchups

• Suryakumar Yadav vs Rashid Khan
• Rohit Sharma vs Mohammed Siraj and Kagiso Rabada
• Hardik Pandya vs GT's spin twins, Rashid Khan and Sai Kishore
• Jos Buttler and Sherfane Rutherford vs MI's pace trio, Trent Boult, Mitchell Santner, and Deepak Chahar

Probable XIs

MI: 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

GT: Shubman Gill (C), Jos Buttler, Sai Sudharsan, Shahrukh Khan, Sherfane Rutherford, Washington Sundar, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, R Sai Kishore, Kagiso Rabada, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj