Pitch and conditions: It's pitch no. 8 at the Wankhede. The square boundaries are 66m and 61m respectively, while it's 74m down the ground. Three matches have been played on this surface before. There has been some weather around, some showers expected. The groundsmen have done well to prepare this surface. The game against RCB was a high-scoring one, the game against CSK was around the 170-run mark. Matthew Hayden reckons it's a 200-plus wicket, but with showers expected, the captain winning the toss should elect to bowl.

Gujarat Titans have been equally impressive, but that is because of Gill, Buttler and Sudharsan. They have looked solid in home conditions where the pitch is a batting paradise and they have played some pretty good cricket in away games as well. Prasidh Krishna has been their leading wicket-taker and Mohammad Siraj has also been among the wickets. Their middle-order batters haven’t got many chances as their top three batsmen have scored heavily, but that’s not an area of concern. Rashid Khan’s form is. The Afghan leg-spinner has struggled to take wickets this season, hence they will need him to find his rhythm back, especially before the playoffs. Given the quality of cricket played by both these teams over the last few weeks, this match should turn out to be an interesting one. Stay around for the toss and teams..

18:30 Local Time, 13:00 GMT, 18:30 IST: CSK was the first team to get eliminated from the season, then it was Rajasthan Royals’ turn and last night the Sunrisers Hyderabad were eliminated. With 15 league games remaining, already three teams are out of the tournament. But today we have two top contenders in action. Mumbai Indians and the Gujarat Titans! Mumbai Indians had a pretty slow start to their season, but the five-time IPL champions have turned things around since that win against Delhi Capitals. Having won five matches on the bounce, Mumbai Indians look unstoppable at the moment. Most of their players are in prime form and those are ominous signs for the remaining teams who are in contention for the title.

Preview by Vijay Tagore

The first leg clash between Mumbai Indians and Gujarat Titans had ended in the demolition of the former at the Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad. But that appears like one in a distant past (on March 29) - more than a month ago. The landscape of the IPL has changed both diametrically and dramatically, and MI have traversed from the bottom of the table at one stage to the top of the table, again, at one stage.

Ahead of the return leg, Mumbai Indians appear to be on a roll. Well more appropriately, they have been more than just being on a roll. They are on rampant fire. Six in six - a rarity in the IPL if not entirely unprecedented - is not mere hitting a purple patch. It is utter domination - a commanding display of hegemony over the opposition. The MI juggernaut looks unstoppable.

Batters Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav, bowlers Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult and all-rounder Hardik Pandya - the side's lead players all - are well backed by support cast of Deepak Chahar, Ryan Rickelton, Tilak Varma, Will Jacks and Naman Dhir. They are firing on a myriad of cylinders at the opposition. Spin may not be their strongest suit, but Karn Sharma and even Jacks are stepping up to make up for the shortcoming.

"Things are falling into place. Overall, not just the batting and bowling, I think fielding as well. I think our fielding has been really, really good. And we've converted a lot of opportunities. And that's something that we've emphasized a lot with the group that we have. As long as we're competing at that level and fighting for each and every opportunity, that's all we can control and have that focus," MI coach Mahela Jayawardene said about the team's preparation and the situation in the league.

MI have the momentum on their side and, more vitally, they are an inexhaustible force at home. Four of the five home games have been won this season and their form looks ominous. Third in the points table, MI are up against a side that is coming off a win but how strong is the Gujarat Titans resurgence will be tested on Tuesday (May 6) at the Wankhede.

The Titans batting revolves around Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan and Jos Buttler and that Top 3 is supported well by a few others - Washington Sundar, Sherfane Rutherford, who have made substantial contributions, even if sporadically. Their bowling, spearheaded by Prasidh Krishna, strongly augments the batting. The side looks like a tight-knit unit.

Despite the first leg reversal, there is little doubt that MI will start favourites in the face-off between two in-form sides, and more crucially a match-up between two Top-4 outfits. A win will be a giant leap forward for either team towards the play-off qualification but more crucially it will go a long way in their bid for a Top 2 finish.

When: Tuesday, May 6 at 7:30 PM IST

Where: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

What to expect: With top batters from either side in fine nick, it should be a high-scoring contest with Mumbai Indians having a slight edge. With the weather getting hotter by the day, there may be some dew in the night requiring the team winning the toss to field first.

Head-to-Head: Since the return of home-away format in 2023, MI have the best win % at home (63.1%), closely followed by GT (60.0%), with CSK as the only other side with over 50% (52.3%). MI, alongside GT, has the best record at home this season winning four out of the first five games. Overall in six matches, it's MI 2 and GT 4.

Team Watch

Mumbai Indians

Injuries/ Unavailability: No news of injury in the camp. Mitchell Santner, who has been out of the last few games, is available for selection, said Mahela Jayawardene.

Tactics & Match-ups: Mumbai Indians are mindful of the fact that not only 75 percent of GT runs are scored by their Top 3 - Gill, Sudharsan and Buttler - but also the fact that they face bulk of the deliveries (nearly 75 percent). Unmistakably, MI will unleash their best - Bumrah, Boult and Deepak - to target them early so that they can expose the GT middle order which is short on gametime.

Probable XII: Ryan Rickelton (wk), Rohit Sharma, Will Jacks, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya (c), Naman Dhir, Corbin Bosch, Deepak Chahar, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah and Karn Sharma

Gujarat Titans

Injuries/Unavailability: There is no injury situation in the GT camp. All players are available for selection, including Kagiso Rabada.

Tactics & Match-ups: Rabada enjoys a favourable match-up against key MI batters - Rohit, Surya, Hardik, and Jacks - having dismissed the first two four times each, Hardik thrice, and Jacks twice.

Probable XII: Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (c), Jos Buttler (wk), Washington Sundar, Rahul Tewatia, Shahrukh Khan, Rashid Khan, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Gerald Coetzee/Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna and Ishant Sharma

Did you know?

- MI seam attack is at the top of wickets (57), avg (22.40), SR (15.1) and is the only team which concedes at under nine/over.

- In his last five games this season, Gill scored four fifties. His only failure came via a run out.

- Gill and Sudharsan have scored 200+ runs more than the next best opening pair and they also became the first GT pair to aggregate 600+ runs in an IPL season. The last five opening stands for GT read: 120, 14, 114, 93, & 87 (last).

What they said

"With (Punjab) Kings having that odd number because of the rained-off game, all that we as a franchise can control or I as a coach can control is to focus on the game tomorrow and then after that the next game. We have three good games against us, which is good for us. So, we just want to do what we've been doing, play some good cricket. Boys are focused on that and the rest I can't control. So, my focus will be what I can control at this point and just keep focusing on that.

- MI coach Mahela Jayawardene on points table

"He's an outstanding batsman and really has a bright future as far as his batting is concerned but what's pleasing to see is that he's growing as far as leadership is concerned and he's really grown into the role of captaincy. So that's great to see. When you have somebody that is as gifted, as talented, as exceptional as Shubman is as a batsman sometimes you might have concerns around whether the weight of leadership would bear heavy.

- GT team director Vikram Solanki on Shubman Gill the batter and the leader

Squads:

Gujarat Titans Squad: Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill(c), Jos Buttler(w), Washington Sundar, Rahul Tewatia, Shahrukh Khan, Rashid Khan, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Gerald Coetzee, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Ishant Sharma, Mahipal Lomror, Anuj Rawat, Arshad Khan, Sherfane Rutherford, Manav Suthar, Kumar Kushagra, Gurnoor Brar, Nishant Sindhu, Kulwant Khejroliya, Karim Janat, Jayant Yadav, Dasun Shanaka

Mumbai Indians Squad: Ryan Rickelton(w), Rohit Sharma, Will Jacks, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya(c), Naman Dhir, Corbin Bosch, Deepak Chahar, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah, Karn Sharma, Raj Bawa, Satyanarayana Raju, Robin Minz, Reece Topley, Mitchell Santner, Ashwani Kumar, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Krishnan Shrijith, Raghu Sharma, Arjun Tendulkar, Bevon Jacobs