Gujarat Lions and Mumbai Indians will be desperately looking for two points when the two teams battle it out in the 16th match of the Indian Premier League at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on Sunday (April 16).

Gujarat Lions, who topped the table last year, are yet to open their account in the tournament. Suresh Raina’s men have lost both their opening encounters against Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad respectively.

On the other hand, Rising Pune Supergiant began the season on a good note, winning their opener against Mumbai Indians. But they have been in woes since then losing back to back games against Delhi and Punjab.

Both the teams have been the weakest till date and are suffering from the plights.

OVERVIEW:

Let’s first brush our eyes through the home team, Mumbai Indians. After the first match of the season, Mumbai has never looked back but won quick two matches, one against Kolkata and the other being the defending champions. Sunrisers Hyderabad.

The team looks good by the inclusion of Malinga and absence of Rayudu seem snot to be a concern as Rana and Hardik heroics rescue them. Krunal Pandya is having a good hand on picking up regular wickets.

Losing the first two games by 10 wickets and 9 wickets respectively is enough to get an idea of the team’s form, Gujarat. The batting clicked in the first game against Kolkata when they scored 183 for four but since then everything has gone wrong for them.

Kolkata chased down the total inside 15 overs without losing a wicket and Gujarat’s poor form continued in the second game too when they managed only 137 against Sunrisers. They were surely missing their star bowler Jadeja.

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Gujarat Lions:

Ahead of this clash, the management would look to find out the right combination. Though they have a bulk of star players on the team like Raina, Finch but they have failed to compete with their absolute strength. It’s high time to rectify the mistakes and start off in a new way to stay in the top race for the cup!

Mumbai Indians:

Barring the first game, everything seemed to have gone right for the team. Rayudu’s injury was not so much on the face of the management. Rana and Hardik are doing it above par for the team. Harbhajan and Malinga have added strength to the camp. It’s would be exciting to see how the team and management hold up to this.

TRACKING THE STRENGTH:

GL: GL is a strong star studded team with a dream lineup. Last year they proved it but sometimes big names fail to perform. What’s in a name? it’s all in 22 yards.

McCulum and Raina ought to find out their rhythm and form. If that happens, GL is sure to shine along with Karthik in the middle order. The news is Jadeja is going to make a come over, if that is so, then watch out Mumbai.

MI: It’s always tough to defeat Mumbai in their fortress. If Rana and Pandya keep on doing what they have done along with Krunal in bowling then definitely a tough time for the lions.

HEAD TO HEAD:

Mumbai is yet to win a match against Gujarat Lions. They have played two games last season and lost both of them. Worst performance of MI against Gujarat Lions is 0%(0/2).

Prediction :

Given the form of both the teams, it is quite tough to predict the winner of this as all matches are a thriller in this league. But if one witness recent performances, Mumbai has an upper hand due to an overall excellence compared to Lions camp, Mumbai is one of the strongest and sort out teams of the season whereas GL has failed to prove that. Also Mumbai will be playing at the Wankhede stadium and they seem always stronger in their home ground.

So Rohit sSarma surely is predicted to win this point. Something around 160-170 is expected from the team which will bat first.