Rajasthan Royals vs Gujarat Titans: The only teams with one loss each to lock horns tonight
The 24th match of TATA IPL will witness the clash of the two most promising teams, Rajasthan Royal and Gujarat Titans. They both had a great start to the tournament and had one loss of the four matches played.
Wade: Will it be his day ?Another Batting test for Gujarat
Gujarat Titans have been doing reasonably well in all the departments of cricket so far. They are coming off a setback in the previous match where Sunrisers Hyderabad handed them the first defeat of the season. In that match, apart from skipper Hardik Pandya, the whole team struggled with both bat and ball. The primary concern for the team remains the form of their opener Matthew Wade, who has yet to play a good inning. The batting remains highly dependent on Shubman Gill and Hardik Pandya at the moment. The Bowling unit carries excellent strength and variation. They will be looking to bounce back stronger today against the table toppers.
Confident Rajasthan
On the other hand, Rajasthan Royals have been setting standards high with each performance passing by. Their bowling unit has been tremendous, and now with the addition of Kuldeep Sen and the way he bowled the final over in the last match looks complete. Their batting lineup also seems pretty stable, with Jos Buttler and Sanju Samson anchoring the initial innings. Yuzvendra Chahal’s spin will be troublesome for the opposition, and his spell can be a game-turning one tonight.
Pitch report
The pitch at Dr DY Patil Stadium, Mumbai, has great offerings for spinners. Pacers might find it a bit challenging to strike wickets. Dew should not be a deciding factor. Batting first to score a challenging target for the opposition will keep the chasers in a tough spot. If Sanju Samson wins the toss, he might opt to bat first, as three of the four wins have come while defending the total for the team.
Probable Playing XI
Rajasthan Royals: Jos Buttler, Devdutt Padikkal, Sanju Samson (c & wk), Rassie van der Dussen, Shimron Hetmyer, Riyan Parag, Kuldeep Sen, Ravichandran Ashwin, Prasidh Krishna, Trent Boult, Yuzvendra Chahal
Gujarat Titans: Matthew Wade (wk), Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan, Hardik Pandya (c), Abhinav Manohar, David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Darshan Nalkande, Lockie Ferguson, Mohammad Shami
Stats to keep an eye on
Rajasthan Royals have both orange and purple cap holders in the form of Jos Buttler and Yuzvendra Chahal, respectively.
Skipper Sanju Samson struggles against pace. He has a strike rate of 109 against pacers compared to 236 against spinners.
Rashid Khan needs one more wicket to become the fourth overseas player to scalp 100 wickets in IPL.
It will be interesting to see if Gujarat Titans will be able to get on the winning track or will they be trapped in the spin web of Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravichandran Ashwin. It will be a thriller to watch.