As Pandya returns from suspension, MI and GT aim to record their first victory.

Hardik Pandya has returned to the scene of the initial jeering. The very stands who had enthusiastically supported him during the previous two IPL seasons turned against him just over a year ago. He endured a crescendo of chants at most IPL stadiums last season as his transfer from Gujarat Titans to Mumbai Indians did not exactly sit well with the supporters. The outcome was far from perfect because neither he nor his squad were able to bounce back and ended up at the bottom.

The key question is whether Ahmedabad has forgiven and forgotten Pandya after a year.

That will be made clear when MI plays the home team, the Gujarat Titans, here at Narendra Modi Stadium on Saturday night. Since these sides last clashed, a lot of water has passed through the Sabarmati. Pandya has surrounded himself with glory throughout this time, contributing significantly to India’s two ICC trophy victories, the Champions Trophy earlier this month and the Twenty20 World Cup in 2024.

“Emotions are a part of being a fan, and I’m confident that everyone has seen past that. It’s fascinating to see how loyalty and everything else operate, even in the IPL. It’s been fun to observe from outside. On the eve of the match in Ahmedabad, where MI had never defeated GT, Mumbai Indians head coach Mahela Jayawardene stated, “I believe that after a year, he has accomplished a lot more, and I’m confident that everyone will see past what happened last year and we can enjoy a good game of cricket and everyone else can enjoy a good game of cricket too.”

Since Pandya has become a national hero, it is unlikely that he will ever again be viewed as a deserter, as Jayawardene had hoped. However, the MI captain’s primary focus would be on halting the Mumbai Indians’ infamously bad league starts, rather than trying to win over the local supporters. They have already lost one, and playing a team that nearly set a record for the second-highest chase in IPL history against the Punjab Kings the other night won’t be simple.

Their talisman Rohit Sharma, who had a duck in Chennai, will also receive a lot of attention, but Pandya, who missed the first game, will be at the heart of action with the ball and bat. He will face players like Mohammed Siraj and Kagiso Rabada, and the outcome of the match will depend on how he and Ryan Rickelton start. The start will be crucial to MI’s hopes, but Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, and Pandya himself will need to overcome the spin-twins’ cunning and accuracy.

With fresh additions like Jos Buttler, Sherfane Rutherford, and Kagiso Rabada enhancing their batting and bowling skills, Shubman Gill’s team appears extremely dangerous despite the reversal in the opening game. However, Vyshak Vijaykumar severely exposed the past champions’ vulnerability to wide yorkers, and they were one batter short in the starting lineup.

Mumbai Indians are unlikely to have overlooked this. But, like with PBKS, whose bowlers did a good job with those wide yorkers, execution will be more important than planning and preparation.

When: 7:30 PM IST on Saturday, March 29, 2025

Where: Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium

What to anticipate: During match hours, there is unavoidably a lot of dew and extremely hot days. Because of this, teams will always want to bat second, hence the toss is an important part of the game.

Head to Head: GT has a perfect 3-0 record at the venue, including Qualifier 2 in 2023, and a 3-2 record against MI in their five face-offs. The team that bats first has won all five of the games between the two teams.

Team Observation:

The Gujarat Titans

Injury/Unavailability: The Titans team is not concerned about any injuries.

Strategies & Matchups: Although Rutherford put up a respectable display, GT was unable to overcome Punjab Kings because to his difficulties versus Vijaykumar. However, GT may give him another chance before taking Glenn Phillips into account. This implies that the host team will continue to use the same four foreign players, with Rashid Khan, Kagiso Rabada, and Jos Buttler rounding out the quartet. Arshad Khan might lose out if Washington Sundar is given a chance. Although Kagiso Rabada and Mohammed Siraj would fight hard against Rohit, the matchup between Rashid Khan and Suryakumar Yadav would be the most intriguing.

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

Indians of Mumbai:

Injury/Unavailability: Apart from Jasprit Bumrah, whose availability is still up in the air, there is no information regarding any injuries.

Strategies & Matchups: Vignesh Puthur, the first game’s surprise package, might be employed as an Impact Player, and Robin Minz might give way to Hardik Pandya. Although a surprise selection is not ruled out, it is unlikely that there will be any additional changes. Buttler and Rutherford will be put to the test by Mitchell Santner and Puthur, but Trent Boult, who is renowned for making early breakthroughs, will be of special interest when facing GT openers Gill and Sai Sudharsan.

Probable XII: Will Jacks, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya (C), Ryan Rickelton (wk), Rohit Sharma, Mitchell Santner, Trent Boult, Satyanarayana Raju Vignesh Puthur, Naman Dhir

Were you aware?

With a POTM performance in the final, Pandya led GT to a title win in their debut season in 2022. A year later, they came up painfully short.

Questions were raised about his tactics following MI’s poor performance later in the season, and his tenure as the team’s full-time captain also started here in 2024 with a close six-run loss.

GT is once again the top heavy in the 2025 IPL, despite having the lowest middle-order batting performances in 2024. During the second-wicket partnership, they appeared to be on track in a tough chase against PBKS, but they were unable to build on it after that.

In the last five IPL matches played in Ahmedabad, there has been a noticeable difference in the performance of spinners in the first and second innings. In the preceding match, Yuzvendra Chahal and Glenn Maxwell combined for 1 for 60 in five overs (ER: 12), while GT spinners returned 4 for 78 in eight overs (ER: 9.75) against PBKS.

What they stated:

In the GT-PBKS game, nobody has questioned how well Shreyas (Iyer) hit or mentioned how Shashank Singh ended the inning. It concerned how Arshdeep Singh entered and bowled the over, as well as how Vijaykumar Vyshak concluded it. Therefore, it does depend on your bowling ability. Ultimately, those one-two overs have a significant impact. Parthiv Patelon, assistant coach at GT, explains how bowlers may impact T20 matches with just one or two strong overs.

“Just a collection of abilities. He’s still learning. That is one of his positive traits. And we simply believed that he was prepared to play for Mumbai and would always do so, regardless of whether it was the final game, the tenth, or the following year. We thought the wicket was a good fit for his skill set after visiting Chennai and seeing it. What persuaded MI coach Mahela Jayawardeneon to start Vignesh Puthur against CSK?