Mar 29, 2025, 10:00 AM ET

A returning Hardik Pandya won a crucial toss for Mumbai Indians (MI) on a fresh, black-soil pitch in Ahmedabad and opted to bowl against Gujarat Titans (GT).

“I am not sure how this is going to play,” Hardik said. “It’s always better to bat second on a black-soil pitch. The dew is also a factor.” In his pitch report, Michael Clarke said it was a two-paced surface and 180 might be a par total.

Apart from Hardik coming in for Will Jacks, Mujeeb Ur Rahman replaced left-arm wristspinner Vignesh Puthur, who picked up a three-for in the previous game. Robin Minz is likely to be their Impact Player.

“We were also looking to bowl first but, you know, one team has to bat first,” GT captain Shubman Gill said.

GT left out Arshad Khan, who went for 21 from his only over against Punjab Kings (PBKS). But there was no room for Washington Sundar, at least not yet. He is mentioned as one of the Impact Player option but GT might go with Ishant Sharma.

Both teams are coming off a defeat. GT lost their opening game to PBKS, and MI faced a defeat at the hands of Chennai Super Kings.

Gujarat Titans: 1 Shubman Gill (capt), 2 Sai Sudharsan, 3 Jos Buttler (wk), 4 Sherfane Rutherford, 5 Shahrukh Khan, 6 Rahul Tewatia, 7 Rashid Khan, 8 R Sai Kishore, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Mohammed Siraj, 11 Prasidh Krishna

Impact Player options: Ishant Sharma, Washington Sundar, Glenn Phillips, Anuj Rawat, Mahipal Lomror

Mumbai Indians: 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 Ryan Rickelton (wk), 3 Suryakumar Yadav, 4 Tilak Varma, 5 Hardik Pandya (capt), 6 Naman Dhir, 7 Mitchell Santner, 8 Deepak Chahar, 9 Trent Boult, 10 Mujeeb Ur Rahman, 11 Satyanarayana Raju

Impact Player options: Robin Minz, Ashwani Kumar, Will Jacks, Raj Bawa, Corbin Bosch