Betting Tips

Every IPL match has something to look forward to but this one between the Gujarat Titans and the Mumbai Indians seems a bit personal. MI poached skipper Hardik Pandya from GT in the transfer window and this is the first time that he will face his older team. Hardik Pandya also replaced Rohit Sharma as the MI Captain, making a lot of loyal MI fans unhappy with him. 
Let us see how GT vs MI could play out in IPL 2024.

GT vs MI Head-to-Head Record

There have been four matches between the two teams out of which GT has won two and MI the other two. No team has won two matches in succession either. Interestingly, GT has not lost a match against MI at Ahmedabad, the venue for this match as well.

GT vs MI Live-Streaming and Broadcast

The match can be streamed on Jio Cinema app or watched live on the Sports18 network of channels.

GT vs MI Team Previews

Gujarat Titans

The Gujarat Titans have had a fabulous IPL journey so far. They won the inaugural edition in which they participated and then narrowly lost the Final in IPL 2023. This time, though, it looks like they have a few more obstacles to overcome. 

Shubman Gill is the new captain and he is a bit untested in that regard. Also, replacing Hardik Pandya is nearly impossible since India does not have any genuine seam-bowling all-rounder apart from him. The news that Mohammad Shami is not going to be available for selection also makes the team significantly weaker. 

Does that make GT a weak side or a pushover? Far from it. 

We expect Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan, and David Miller to play in the pivotal batting roles. They are all proven match-winners who love batting on the absolute batting paradise that Ahmedabad usually provides. Wriddhiman Saha at the top is useful only for getting a rapid start but can actually harm the team is bats for too long. 

Shahrukh Khan, Vijay Shankar, and Azmatullah Omarzai are perhaps the players who will start in the middle order and attempt to give GT the power needed against the spinners. 

The bowling lineup is a bit weaker than usual. Umesh Yadav will have to recreate some magic to fill the hole left by Shami while Azmatullah Omarzai may be seen as a like for like replacement for Hardik Pandya. Rashid Khan is returning after a long injury layoff but his partnership with Noor Ahmad in the middle is going to be crucial. 

Kartik Tyagi is the other Indian seamer that GT has picked. He has pace but is not very reliable and seems to have fallen behind in recent times.

Gujarat Titans Expected Playing 11

Mumbai Indians

Mumbai Indians are normally a well-settled team heading into the new season. As we have discussed earlier, this is not the case but we don't think that is a bad thing. Hardik Pandya is an astute leader and might free up Rohit Sharma to play at his best. 

Ishan Kishan has been in the eye of the storm for his lack of domestic cricket appearances and how that affects him remains to be seen. We hope to see a rejuvenated Kishan smashing the doors down with his performances. A couple of failures, though, will mount the pressure on him. 

The middle order of MI is very strong. SKY, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Tim David, and Nehal Wadhera could all find a place in the playing eleven. In fact, we could have Mohammad Nabi batting lower down the order as well. This depth and power is far superior to what GT has in its ranks. 

The main issue is going to be getting the players batting in the positions that they enjoy the most. 

Among the bowling, MI has world-class seam bowling options but their spin contingent is extremely weak. Mohammad Nabi and Piyush Chawla could be the lead spinners for MI while Jasprit Bumrah, Gerald Coetzee or Roamrio Shepherd could lead the seam attack. 

Hardik Pandya adds balance as the seamer but others like Tilak Varma might need to roll their arms over also.

Mumbai Indians Expected Playing 11

GT vs MI Toss Prediction

The team that wins the toss is likely to want to field first. At the Narendra Modi Stadium in the IPL, the team batting second has won 56.3% of the time (9 out of the 16 matches). This may not seem like a significant advantage but with dew also likely to make an impact, it is a big factor.

Pitch and Conditions

The average score at Ahmedabad in IPL 2023 was 195. That shows that the conditions are tailor-made for batting with a fast outfield, hard pitch, and very little movement for the bowlers. A six is hit every 13.6 balls at this venue while a four is hit every 8.6 balls. 

That suggests we saw close to 17 sixes in every match during the IPL 2023 on average. Keep this in mind while looking for the Over/Under betting markets.

GT vs MI Betting Tips

We are going to back the Mumbai Indians to win their first match against the Gujarat TItans in Ahmedabad. We think GT is missing a lot of crucial players and while it has home advantage, Hardik Pandya leading Mumbai somewhat neutralizes that. 

The superior batting depth of MI and its fantastic pace bowling attack should get the win over a stronger GT spin bowling unit.

Bet on the Mumbai Indians to win.