IPL 2025, MI vs GT Live Updates: Kagiso Rabada returns as Gujarat look to take down Mumbai juggernaut

MI vs GT IPL 2025 Live Updates, Mumbai Indians vs Gujarat Titans: Kagiso Rabada hasn’t played since March 29

Some may call this the Hardik Pandya Derby, with the all-rounder’s swap one way and back the other became one of the biggest talking points last season. While that was the subplot in 2024, it is very different this year: these two teams head into this match equal on 14 points, the two healthiest net run rate totals in the league. The equation is fairly simple: the victor will go top of the table, put themselves in a great position to end the season in the top two. The loser will suddenly have pressure on them, the chasing pack led by Delhi Capitals nipping at their ankles.

With these three teams playing a virtual tri-series to decide who makes it through, most would back the two teams on display today. Their talent is through the roof: MI can boat of what feels like an army of Indian captains, with plenty of dependable overseas talent to boot, and genuine difference-makers with Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, and Suryakumar Yadav. GT possess the best bowling unit of the tournament, only given a boost as Kagiso Rabada returns to the picture, but everyone knows what their story is: they pack the most elite and consistent top three in the tournament, each of the batters sitting in the upper portion of the Orange Cap race, and all capable of massive damage.

No team has had any real answers for Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill, or Jos Buttler. Crucially, no team has had any answers for all three in the same game, or even two of these three names. For all the talk of this star top three protecting a soft middle order, there hasn’t been a single match this season where all three have had an off-day at the same time. Their remarkable dependability is key: this is not a unit meant to wow, but one that has three batters who will give at least 40-50 runs in every game, a couple kicking on to deliver more.

But MI have the weapons to go against that. Trent Boult will be given the new ball to try and deal an early blow to this triumvirate in Gujarat colours, and to support him through the innings will be Jasprit Bumrah, a player who has made a career out of rising to the occasion and doing what seems impossible. With their bowling unit very deep, MI will have plenty of options and alternatives to turn to with the ball, a luxury none of the other teams GT have overcome really had. That could be the turning point.

Equally, GT need some sort of response to the one-man army that has been Suryakumar Yadav. The GT bowling will back themselves against MI: in their match earlier this season, Mohammed Siraj did the trick at the top with a searing opening spell, and Prasidh Krishna who came on through the middle overs to do the damage, including the wicket of SKY. That set the template for Prasidh’s use in a true breakout season for GT, and one feels the same sort of impact will be needed again, to try and contain maybe to only batting unit in the tournament that has the firepower to go toe-to-toe with GT’s consistency.