IPL 2017 Match 16 Mumbai Indians vs Gujarat Lions: Preview, team news and likely XIs

Suresh Raina and co. are all set to face the stiffest test probably of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2017 as they will square off against an in-form Mumbai Indians (MI) at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Wankhede Stadium has been MI's fortress as hardly any team can get the better of the host.

 

On top of that, Rohit Sharma-led Mumbai Indians have won three match in a row and are one of the most threatening sides in IPL 2017 right now. They have 6 points from from 4 matches and are placed second in the IPL 2017 points table behind league leaders Kolkata Knight Riders, because the latter have a much better net run-rate. 

 

Click here for the updated points table.

 

Mumbai Indians have been blessed with the Pandya brothers (Krunal and Hardik), as there has not been one match, where they have not played a role. Nitish Rana has also been a revelation in IPL 2017. Mumbai Indians have a history of being referred to as a slow starter but this year, the tables have turned. The kind of combination they have in their side, it is highly unlikely that Rohit Sharma is going to make any changes to his side apart from one. Lasith Malinga could replace Tim Southee, provided the former is declared match fit. 

 

Gujarat Lions on the other hand, struggled to prove their point in IPL 2017 in their first two games as they could not get their combination correct. But with the arrival of Ravindra Jadeja and Andrew Tye, their insipid-looking bowling attack looks much better. The Australian seamer picked up the second hat-trick of the IPL 2017 against Rising Pune Supergiant and is surely going to retain his place in the side. Dwayne Bravo is still injured and as a result, Raina will have to play an extra overseas batsman.

 

Head-to-Head: Gujarat Lions won both the encounters in IPL 2016 against Mumbai Indians and they will look to continue with their record against them. 

 

Likely XIs:

 

Mumbai Indians: Parthiv Patel (wk), Jos Buttler, Rohit Sharma (C), Nitish Rana, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Hardik Pandya, Harbhajan Singh, Mitchell McClenaghan, Jasprit Bumrah, Lasith Malinga.

 

Gujarat Lions: Dwayne Smith, Brendon McCullum, Suresh Raina (C), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Aaron Finch, Ishan Kishan, Ravindra Jadeja, Andrew Tye, Praveen Kumar, Shivil Kaushik, Basil Thampi.