Mumbai Indians for not retaining Hardik Pandya in the IPL retention window was issues with his fitness. Pandya did not bowl at all during IPL 2021, prompting Mumbai Indians not to hedge their bets on his fitness. Whatever be the actual reason for his non-retention, the net gainer has been debutants Gujarat Titans, whom the Baroda allrounder has led to eight wins so far while contributing 309 runs in nine matches and taking four wickets. On Friday at Mumbai’s Brabourne Stadium, it will be an emotional moment for Pandya as the Titans, looking to get back to winning ways after their eight-wicket loss to Punjab Kings, lock horns with Mumbai Indians. The latter will look to build on their solitary win against Rajasthan Royals in their last encounter. Mumbai’s problems stem from lack of runs from captain Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan and Keiron Pollard apart from the paucity of wickets from pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah. The latter has taken five scalps, three of them in a single match, in nine matches at an economy of 7.45. The bowlers, as head coach Mahela Jayawardene highlighted in a pre-match virtual conference, have failed to dominate powerplay periods.
