Former Indian pacer Varun Aaron ka kehna hai ki Ahmedabad ka batting-friendly pitch PBKS ko thodi si edge de sakta hai, agar woh pehle batting karke “tone set” karein. Lekin MI ki killer form aur experience unko bhaari favorite banata hai. Chalo, isko thoda detail mein samjhte hain ki PBKS ke liye pehle batting kyun zaroori hai aur Ahmedabad ka pitch kaise game changer ban sakta hai.
Ahmedabad ka Pitch: Batter ka Swarg
Narendra Modi Stadium iss season mein run-machine raha hai, jahaan average first-innings score 221 hai. 14 innings mein se 9 mein 200 se zyada runs bane hain, aur pehle batting karne wali team ne 7 mein se 6 match jeete hain, sirf ek chase day game mein hua. Yeh red-soil pitch ekdum solid bounce aur carry deti hai, jo batters ko aggressive shots khelne ka full chance deta hai. Yeh PBKS ke style ke liye perfect hai, jinke openers Prabhsimran Singh aur Priyansh Arya ne iss season 476 runs thoke hain 160+ ke strike rate se.
Aaron ka kehna hai, “Ahmedabad ka pitch PBKS ke liye zyada suit karega, kyunki unka top order full aggressive hai.” Pehle batting karne se PBKS apne powerplay mein MI ke bowlers, chahe woh Jasprit Bumrah ho ya Trent Boult, ko dhamka sakta hai. Agar woh 210-220 ka score khada kar dein, toh MI pe pressure aa sakta hai, kyunki Ahmedabad mein MI ke last 6 matches mein se 5 haar hui hain. Dew thodi si help kar sakti hai chasing team ko, lekin evening games mein itna asar nahi hota ki game palat jaye.
PBKS ka Plan: Tone Set Karo
PBKS ka asli dum hai unka aggressive batting, jinka team strike rate 157.7 hai, IPL 2025 mein doosra sabse zyada. Prabhsimran (powerplay mein 159 strike rate) aur Arya ke saath, unka top order full josh mein hai, jaise KKR ke khilaaf 120-run partnership mein dikha. Pehle batting karne se yeh dono MI ke new-ball attack ko lapet sakte hain aur middle order ke liye platform set kar sakte hain, jisme Shreyas Iyer, Josh Inglis, aur Marcus Stoinis hain, jo 200+ ka score chase kar sakte hain. Ahmedabad mein unka 243/5 ka score against Gujarat Titans iska proof hai.
Qualifier 1 mein RCB ke haathon 8-wicket se haar ke baad, PBKS ke young players ko ek pressure game ka experience mil chuka hai. New Chandigarh ka pitch, jahaan seam movement aur bounce ne unko pareshan kiya, uske mukable Ahmedabad ka pitch unke aggressive style ke liye perfect hai. Agar Yuzvendra Chahal, jo wrist injury ke wajah se Qualifier 1 miss kiya, wapas aata hai, toh PBKS ke chances aur badh jaayenge. Chahal ka MI ke big batsmen jaise Jonny Bairstow (4 baar out) aur Suryakumar Yadav (71 balls mein 83 runs) ke khilaaf record zabardast hai. Woh middle overs mein spin se MI ko rok sakta hai.
Mumbai Indians: Full-on Form mein
MI ekdum “red-hot” hai, Eliminator mein Gujarat Titans ko 20 runs se hara ke. Unka 228/5 ka score aur Bumrah ka clutch bowling unki taakat dikhata hai. Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, aur Hardik Pandya jaise international stars ke saath, MI ka lineup PBKS ke uncapped players se kahi zyada experienced hai. Suryakumar ne MI ke 12.90% runs banaye hain, aur Pandya ka death overs mein 205.66 strike rate unko killer finisher banata hai.
MI ka bowling attack, jisme Bumrah lead karta hai, unka trump card hai. Bumrah ne Marcus Stoinis ko 36 balls mein 28 runs pe teen baar out kiya hai, aur powerplay se death overs tak woh game control karta hai. Lekin MI ka Ahmedabad mein record kharaab hai (5/6 matches haare), aur agar Deepak Chahar ya Richard Gleeson injury ke wajah se nahi khelte, toh unka bowling thoda weak ho sakta hai. Reece Topley replacement ho sakta hai, lekin Bumrah aur Boult pe bahut pressure hoga PBKS ke openers ko rokne ka.
Pehle Batting Kyun Zaroori?
PBKS ke liye, jinka team young aur thoda inexperienced hai, pehle batting karna pressure kam karta hai. Qualifier 1 mein unka batting collapse (101 all out) dikhata hai ki chase karte waqt woh struggle kar sakte hain. Ahmedabad mein pehle batting karke woh apne aggressive style se 210-220 ka score khada kar sakte hain, jo MI ke liye tough hoga. Arshdeep Singh (18 wickets, 16.7 strike rate) agar early wickets le, ya Chahal middle overs mein kamaal kare, toh PBKS bada upset kar sakta hai.
Lekin MI ka playoff experience (5 IPL titles, 2-2 Qualifier 2 record) unko faayda deta hai. PBKS ka sirf ek baar (2014) Qualifier 2 khelne ka experience hai. Arshdeep ki recent form (8 powerplay overs mein 92 runs, zero wickets) MI ke openers Rohit aur Bairstow ke liye problem ban sakti hai. Agar MI pehle batting kare aur 220+ ka score set kare, toh PBKS ke bowlers ke liye mushkil hogi.
Weather aur Baaki Factors
Ahmedabad mein June 1, 2025 ko weather garam (31–36°C) aur humid (48–56%) hoga. Thodi si baarish ka chance (10–42%) hai, lekin match ke time clear skies expected hain. Agar match washout hota hai, toh PBKS league stage ranking ke wajah se aage jayega. Yeh unke liye backup hai, lekin pehle batting karke game apne haath mein rakhna unka best bet hai.
Varun Aaron ka kehna hai ki Ahmedabad ka pitch PBKS ke aggressive top order ke liye perfect hai, aur pehle batting karke 210-220 ka score set karna unka best chance hai MI ke khilaaf. Chahal ki wapsi unko aur dum de sakti hai. Lekin MI ka experience, Bumrah ka dhamaka, aur Suryakumar ka form unko bhaari favorite banata hai. Toss ka role bada hoga, kyunki dono teams shayad pehle batting chunengi. PBKS ke liye yeh mauka hai apne young guns ke saath “tone set” karne ka, lekin MI ke khilaaf yeh asaan nahi hoga.
