Gujarat Titans (GT) flexed their dominant muscles over 5-time Indian Premier League (IPL) winners Mumbai Indians (MI) and won the game by 55 runs. The match was a perfect game for the Hardik Pandya-led side and they are now in the 2nd position in the points table.
Mumbai Indians felt the absence of their star pacer Jofra Archer, who missed out on the game as he was unwell. A total of 8 sixes were scored in the last 3 overs of the 1st innings and this changed the course of the game.
MI’s death bowling woes continued as the likes of Riley Meredith and Cameron Green were belted for a lot of runs.
In this article, we take a look at the top 3 talking points of the GT vs MI game in IPL 2023:
1. Gujarat’s middle-order fires on all cylinders
For a lot of games in IPL 2023, Gujarat Titans were relying on their heavy top-order. The likes of Shubman Gill, Wriddhiman Saha, and Sai Sudarshan were scoring the bulk of the runs.
But in this GT vs MI game, the middle order really clicked and they scored a lot of runs. South African hard-hitting batter David Miller scored a fiery knock of 46 runs in 22 balls and Abhinav Manohar scored 42 runs in just 21 balls.
2. MI leak a lot of runs at the slog overs
Rohit Sharma’s Mumbai conceded a truckload of runs at the death. Gujarat accelerated at the end and scored 94 runs in the last 6 overs. This powered them to their highest total of 207 runs in the history of IPL.
Naturally, the momentum shifted towards the defending champions and they absolutely trampled over the sluggish Mumbai side in the 2nd innings. Arjun Tendulkar not being given any other over after 2 brilliant overs was quite baffling! The junior Tendulkar took a wicket and conceded only 9 runs in his 2 overs.
3. Rohit Sharma struggles with the bat
The skipper of Mumbai Indians, Rohit Sharma has once again failed to leave an impression in this IPL 2023. Rohit Sharma has been struggling with consistency and form in the ongoing IPL. The champion batter was dismissed cheaply by the opposition skipper, Hardik Pandya.
Sharma had to depart for just 2 runs in 8 balls. He had a poor strike rate of 25.00. If Mumbai are to win games, then they need Sharma to fire from the word go.
Also read: Sharjah Cricket Stadium Honours Sachin Tendulkar; Rename Stand After His Name
