IPL 2025 | "Gill and Sudharsan have been very consistent": Mahela Jayawardene

GT captain Shubman Gill during practice at the Wankhede yesterday. Pics/Satej Shinde

Both former champions Mumbai Indians (MI) and Gujarat Titans (GT) are on 14 points each and will be aiming for the top spot in the points table when they battle it out in Tuesday's IPL clash at the Wankhede Stadium. And with the Hardik Pandya-led MI bowling unit taking on Shubman Gill's top-order GT batters, it promises to be a tough contest.

GT's partners in rhyme

GT's opening pair of Sai Sudharsan (504 runs) and Gill (465) are among the most successful pairs in the competition so far, while their No. 3, Englishman Jos Buttler (470) is also in good form. And though MI's pacers - Kiwi left-arm pacer Trent Boult (16 wickets) and Jasprit Bumrah (11) and all-rounder Pandya (13) - are in good touch, head coach Mahela Jayawardene felt it would be a challenge for his bowlers to counter GT's in-form top-order batters.

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MI coach Mahela Jayawardene with pacer Trent Boult yesterday

"Those two guys [Gill and Sudharsan] have been very consistent. Not just those two, the top three [including No.3 Buttler]. I think 75 per cent of the team's runs they have scored. So that's a challenge our bowling unit will have. That's what their team is built on, so we'll have to work towards that. It's something we'll look into," Jayawardene said at MI's match-eve press conference on Monday.

Jayawardene also revealed that MI opener Rohit Sharma was carrying a minor injury after India's successful Champions Trophy campaign in the UAE last March. Rohit has been playing for MI as an Impact Player and Jayawardene explained why. "If you look at the composition of the team, most of the guys are doing dual roles. Most of them are bowling. Also, some of the venues need boundary runners. You need guys with speed. So that also comes into play. And Rohit was also nursing a niggle from the Champions Trophy, so we wanted to make sure that we don't push him. While batting is the most important thing, he has contributed tremendously whether he's on the field or not," said the former Sri Lankan skipper.

MI's five-time IPL-winning captain Rohit (293 runs in 10 IPL-18 games) struggled in the initial phase of this IPL, scoring just 82 in six matches, before bouncing back strongly, scoring three half-centuries in the next four games.

Rabada cleared to play

Meanwhile, GT's Director of Cricket Vikram Solanki made it clear that their South African pacer Kagiso Rabada, who was out of action for a month, will be available for this game. Rabada, 29, who has played only two matches in this edition (vs MI and Punjab Kings, claiming one wicket in each game in March) was tested positive after taking recreational drugs and flew back home. On Monday evening, he was seen bowling to his captain Gill and Buttler during a practice session. "With Kagiso, as far as tomorrow's match is concerned, he is available given all the decisions taken and whatever has transpired over the past month or so," Solanki said at a pre-match press conference.

As per a statement issued by GT, "Rabada has accepted responsibility and regrets his mistake. South African Institute for Drug-Free Sport [SAIDS] has completed the investigation. He has honoured his provisional suspension and also completed a program. He is now fully available for selection in the remaining matches of the IPL."

Two
No. of 100-plus partnerships put on by GT openers Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan at this IPL