Mumbai Indians

The absence of Suryakumar Yadav, sidelined due to an ankle injury sustained in South Africa, poses a significant challenge for Mumbai's middle-order, compounded by the departure of Cameron Green, who impressed last season but was traded to Royal Challengers Bangalore just before the auction.

Pathan, on Star Sports, likened Rohit's Mumbai Indians influence to Dhoni's at CSK, highlighting their leadership in challenging times.

Hardik Pandya's stint with GT has been noteworthy, spanning two impactful years where he led the team admirably.

The trade is expected to be an all-cash deal, with Mumbai Indians paying INR 15 crore (approximately $1.8 million) as Hardik's salary and an undisclosed transfer fee to the Gujarat Titans.

Besides Harmanpreet, Mumbai has also retained WPL 2023's Most Valuable Player and Purple Cap recipient Hayley Matthews and Emerging Player of the Season Yastika Bhatia along with Player of the Final Natalie Sciver-Brunt.

The 24-year old Green showed few signs of nerves that might come with being the most expensive Australian in IPL history as he compiled 452 runs and took six wickets for Mumbai Indians under the captaincy of Rohit.

The win also meant that Gujarat entered the IPL final for the second successive time and will meet Chennai Super Kings in Sunday's title clash at the same venue. Co-incidentally, the first match of IPL 2023 was between Gujarat and Chennai at the very same venue on March 31.

On his way of leaving scores of fans in awe of his belligerent form by picking gaps and finding elevation beautifully, Gill also became the leading run-getter of the competition in the season, which will always be remembered for him. His first 30 balls saw him make 48 runs, before switching gears in thrilling fashion to slam 79 runs in his next 30 balls.

The toss was delayed by 45 runs due to rain, with the game beginning at 2000 hrs IST. The winner of Qualifier 2 will play against four-time champions Chennai Super Kings in the final on Sunday, while the side who doesn't win will be knocked out of the competition.

Former Australia skipper Aaron Finch believes the Hardik Pandya-led side is balanced due to many match-winners in their line-up. "GT are a strong team to beat because they have a world-class bowler in Rashid Khan. They have a good captain in Hardik Pandya, who's shown a lot of maturity. Thirdly, their fast bowling attack is also balanced," he was quoted as saying by Star Sports.