"Their qualification is almost confirmed" - Aakash Chopra on Gujarat Titans' IPL 2023 win vs Mumbai Indians

Aakash Chopra feels the Gujarat Titans (GT) have virtually guaranteed themselves a spot in the IPL 2023 playoffs after their win against the Mumbai Indians (MI).

Hardik Pandya and Co. set MI a massive 208-run target after being asked to bat first at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Tuesday, April 25. They then restricted the visitors to 152/9 to complete a convincing 55-run win and climb into second spot in the IPL 2023 points table, behind only the Chennai Super Kings on net run rate.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra opined that the Gujarat Titans are almost assured of a playoff berth after annihilating the Mumbai Indians, saying:

"Gujarat completely destroyed Mumbai. They defeated Mumbai by 55 runs and have reached the second spot (in the standings). They have also won five out of seven matches. So their qualification is almost confirmed."

The former Indian opener pointed out that a plethora of players starred for the defending champions in Tuesday's game, elaborating:

"There are plenty of options for the most valuable player. It can be Shubman Gill because he scored the only half-century. It can be Abhinav Manohar because he scored his runs at a strike rate of 200. It can be David Miller as well because he also did an amazing job. It can be Noor Ahmad as well, who picked up three wickets."

Shubman Gill (56 off 34), David Miller (46 off 22) and Abhinav Manohar (42 off 21) helped the Gujarat Titans reach a mammoth total. While Noor Ahmad (3/37) was their most successful bowler, Rashid Khan and Mohit Sharma accounted for two dismissals apiece.

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"Let's go with Noor Ahmad" - Aakash Chopra picks the Gujarat Titans spinner as the MVP

Noor Ahmad dismantled the Mumbai Indians' batting with his three-wicket haul. [P/C: iplt20.com]

Aakash Chopra picked Noor Ahmad as the most valuable player, reasoning:

"A high-scoring encounter where the run chase becomes easy at times, let's go with Noor Ahmad. He has played just one T20I but he is playing in this tournament and doing very well consistently. He picked up extremely important wickets in this game."

The cricketer-turned-commentator highlighted that the Gujarat Titans' left-arm wrist-spinner dismissed three of the most destructive batters in the Mumbai Indians' lineup, explaining:

"Cameron Green was the most dangerous player of this team (MI) because he had scored 33 runs and hit three sixes. He hit the ball on his stumps. He then dismissed Suryakumar Yadav caught and bowled and after that he picked up Tim David's wicket."

Rashid Khan first dismissed Ishan Kishan and Tilak Varma in the same over after Cameron Green and Kishan had stitched together a 39-run second-wicket partnership following Rohit Sharma's early dismissal.

Noor Ahmad then got rid of Green and Tim David in the same over before dismissing Suryakumar Yadav two overs later to virtually seal the game for the Gujarat Titans.