In a high-octane affair at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, Gujarat Titans will take on Mumbai Indians in the opening match of IPL 2024. The two teams last met in the qualifiers last season where Gujarat Titans handed a thumping defeat to the five-time IPL champions.
Hardik Pandya, who captained Gujarat Titans last season, has now taken over the captaincy of Mumbai Indians. Pandya, who will be playing competitive cricket for the first time after suffering an ankle injury in last year's 50-over World Cup, will have a lot to prove this IPL season as he aims to cement his place in India's squad for the 2024 T20 World Cup in June.
Mumbai Indians also have to contend with a number of injuries, with pacers Jason Behrendorff and Dilshan Madhushanka already ruled out of the tournament, while star batsman Suryakumar Yadav is yet to receive a fitness clearance from the NCA. MI are also likely to miss the services of all-rounder Gerald Coetzee in the early stages of the tournament due to a groin injury.
New skipper Shubman Gill will be looking to ensure that GT maintains the consistency they have shown in their first two IPL seasons. Aside from his batting prowess, Gill, last year's leading run-scorer, will be keen to ensure that the added pressure doesn't affect his batting.
The Narendra Modi Stadium has a total of 11 pitches, including 5 black soil and 5 red soil pitches. The black dirt pitches are known to produce bouncy tracks that allow runs to be scored freely. Meanwhile, the red dirt pitches are known to dry out quickly and are more likely to help the spinners.
However, during the IPL, the Narendra Modi Stadium is known to be a high-scoring pitch with an average first innings total of over 170 runs. The odds of a team batting first or chasing are almost equal, so the toss shouldn't be a big factor.
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Batters - Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Tilak Varma, Tim Davis, David Miller
Wicketkeeper - Ishan Kishan
All-rounders - Rashid Khan, Hardik Pandya
Bowlers - Jasprit Bumrah, Akash Madhwal, Umesh Yadav
According to the Google Match Predictor, Mumbai Indians are likely to win the key clash in Ahmedabad today with a 56% chance of victory. Meanwhile, as per CricTracker, the team batting first will have an edge and can claim the win in Ahmedabad today.
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