(Cricket news) With a convincing victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad last night, Gujarat Titans became the first team in the TATA IPL 2023 to reach the playoffs. Five-time champion Mumbai Indians and the Lucknow Super Giants square off tonight in Lucknow in an effort to get closer to securing a playoff berth with three more berths still up for grabs.
In the second half of the TATA IPL 2023, MI gained momentum, living true to their reputation as “late bloomers,” and their juggernaut is still going strong. The team captained by Rohit Sharma has won four of its past five games, and today in Lucknow, they’ll be looking to secure two crucial points.
Former Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh thinks the Mumbai Indians have a good chance to finish in the top two teams at the end of the league stage and increase their chances of winning their sixth TATA IPL championship.
Speaking on Star Sports’ Cricket Live, Harbhajan Singh said, “Mumbai Indians has once again proven, it is a champion side and it knows how to come back strongly. People weren’t counting this MI after it was on a losing streak in the first phase of the competition, but once it returned to the winning track, there was no stopping this side. It can also finish the league stage amongst the top two. If MI ends up winning the remaining two games, it will get to 18 points. GT has 18 points already and no other team will be able to get 18 points now, except MI.”
Due to his prowess against pace and spin, former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag has supported great MI batter Suryakumar Yadav to be the permanent hitter at number three.
Speaking on Star Sports’ Cricket Live, Virender Sehwag opined, “SKY can be the permanent No. 3 for Mumbai Indians because he’s a good player of pace and spin. Although it all boils down to the team management (when it comes to taking such decisions), but I strongly believe he should get to face more balls.”
Shubman Gill, a rising star in the TATA IPL, continued to boost his reputation after smashing his first century in the league.
With a broad variety of shots at his disposal, the 22-year-old Gujarat Titans opener has been a force to be reckoned with this season and pleased former India batsman Harbhajan Singh.
Speaking on Star Sports Studio, Harbhajan Singh said, “The speciality of Shubman Gill is that he has all kinds of shots and he chooses his shots according to the situation. When Shubman is in his rhythm, he plays pure cricketing shots and this is a testimony to how strong his batting coaching has been. He doesn’t play random shots. It’s a great feeling to watch Shubman’s straight dives and pull shots.”
Sunil Gavaskar, a former cricketer for India, praised this player from Punjab for his excellent ball reading skills.
Speaking on Star Sports Studio, Sunil Gavaskar said, “Gill has a lot of time to play shots. The reason for this is that he reads the ball well and then decides on his shot. Gill is in the right balance and his head position is good while playing any shot, and he also executes it well.”
Also read: GT is the 1st team to qualify for the playoffs in this IPL season
