IPL 2023, Qualifier 2: Mumbai Indians win rain-delayed toss, elect to bowl first against Gujarat Titans

Ahmedabad, May 26 (IANS) Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma won the rain-delayed toss and elected to bowl first against Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 2 of IPL 2023 at Narendra Modi Stadium, here on Friday.

The toss was delayed by 45 runs due to rain, with the game beginning at 2000 hrs IST.

The winner of Qualifier 2 will play against four-time champions Chennai Super Kings in the final on Sunday, while the side who doesn't win will be knocked out of the competition.

After winning the toss, Rohit said left-arm spinner Kumar Kartikeya Singh replaced off-spinner Hrithik Shokeen in the playing eleven.

"We are gonna chase. The pitch looks a little sticky. We can make best use of the pitch. The pitch will get better as the game goes on. It's our comfort, what we want to do. We've chased well this season. In Chennai, we wanted to bat first, according to the conditions," the MI skipper said.

"This is a different team, we have a lot of new faces in the squad. As a team, we've come across many situations like this. It's important to put your best foot forward. There were a bit of nerves at the start of the tournament, but it's settled now," he added.

Mumbai enter Qualifier 2 match high on confidence following a thumping 81-run victory over Lucknow Super Giants in the Eliminator match, while Gujarat have another shot at making it to the final after losing to Chennai Super Kings by 15 runs in Qualifier 1.

Gujarat skipper Hardik Pandya said he would have bowled first as well and added that left-arm pacer Josh Little and left-handed batter B Sai Sudharsan replace all-rounders Dasun Shanaka and Darshan Nalkande for this match. Little may come in as an impact player during Gujarat's bowling innings.

"Knockouts and qualifiers are fun, you have to be on your A game. It's important to enjoy. If we can play our everything, we'll be satisfied irrespective of the result. I know how the crowd is going to support us. Gujarati people are loyal (in terms of local support). Yeah, full throttle (on bowling in the competition)," said Hardik.

Playing XIs:

Gujarat Titans: Wriddhiman Saha (wicketkeeper), Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan, Vijay Shankar, Hardik Pandya (captain), David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Mohit Sharma, Noor Ahmad and Mohammed Shami

Substitutes: Josh Little, Shivam Mavi, Odean Smith, R Sai Kishore, KS Bharat

Mumbai Indians: Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Rohit Sharma (captain), Cameron Green, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Tim David, Chris Jordan, Piyush Chawla, Jason Behrendorff, Kumar Kartikeya Singh and Akash Madhwal

Substitutes: Ramandeep Singh, Vishnu Vinod, Nehal Wadhera, Sandeep Warrier, Raghav Goyal

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