Bowlers set to rule the roost in the clash of equals

IPL auctions are funny. What is funnier is how many teams defy all those pre-season talks to come good and how some teams defy history to become laggards. Chennai Super Kings of 2020 and Mumbai Indians of 2022 are classic examples of how the world had come a complete circle to give some scarcely believable results. It might not have sustainably changed the IPL dynamics but has surely managed to deliver a scare on people, like us, predicting things for a living. 

But that happens. If cricket would be easily predictable, it would take away the very essence of the sport and why we love it in the first place. On the other hand, the counter-argument suggests that if it wouldn’t be that predictable, we wouldn’t have two teams winning 9 out of the 14 IPLs so far. We wouldn’t have a certain Rohit Sharma marshaling his troupe with an iron fist on the back of a bunch of backroom staff assisting him the right way or teams splurging crores on analysis and scouting. The essence has fundamentally seen a change in paradigm in T20 cricket and in turn, resulted in something far bigger than on-field battle.

However, Wednesday would be different. Two fundamentally flawed sides at the top of the table meet each other to secure the bragging rights and move too far away from the chasing packs. For Sunrisers Hyderabad know that their resurgence after two shambolic losses would be evenly matched by Gujarat Titans, who are at the second position on the points table with six wins from seven games. 

The western Indian franchise have reached that position, thanks to a collective performance from their batters, who, on their days, seemed bigger than the sum of their parts whereas an even better and engrossing show from the bowlers who delivered way more than their paycheque would have called for. Both sides, with an equal weight of success stories and worrylines, would want to let the other side play catch up just by ensuring they don't drop their guard at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai - a batting paradise.

SRH to bank on thir bowlers yet again

If one team in the entire tournament play the percentage cricket to perfection, it has to be Sunrisers Hyderabad. Their brand of cricket allows them to aggregate serial match-winners, who flow under the radar, yet deliver. Bowling has been their biggest success in the last half a decade, this year is no different. 

No bowling attack has taken more wickets than SRH in this IPL and their economy of just 8 runs an over is also amongst the best for a team in the competition. The Kane Williamson-led side have had luck on their side as they have bowled first in all seven games and despite that, they have conceded an average of 156 runs in an innings, which is the lowest for any team. What is even more remarkable is that they have had equal contribution from almost all the bowlers and all of them have been economical, with no one conceding runs at over 8.5 runs an over so far. 

While Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Marco Jansen have had splendid performances to boot, T Natarajan has ensured that he reposed the faith posed by SRH despite being an injury-prone player. With the focus squarely on Umran Malik, the Tamil Nadu pacer has picked 15 wickets in seven matches and is already having his best season in the IPL so far. The side can bank on him to deliver another magnificent performance, especially getting the fragile Gujarat top-order to blink first.

Can Gujarat rise above the batting conundrum?

The silver-lining for Gujarat Titans’ batting this season is the form of their skipper Hardik Pandya, who is having one of his best seasons with the bat. With 295 runs already, not only has he performed in pressure situations but also ensured to be consistent as well. That he has scored 25+ runs in all the matches he has batted this season is a testimony to the same.

But there is more to Hardik than meets the eye. In 4 of the matches this season, the Baroda all-rounder has walked out to bat inside powerplay and in 3 of those matches, he walked out to bat inside the 3rd over of the innings. As a marker of consistency, Hardik has averaged 118.5 with 3 fifties in the 4 matches he has walked out to bat inside PP this season. That tells you the impact.

While his batting impact has surely served Gujarat well this season, the team’s opening partnership have the lowest average among all teams this IPL. GT’s opening partnership’s average stay at the crease is the lowest (9 balls) among all teams and that tells you something. After a blistering start to the tournament, Shubman Gill has fizzled away, registering 7, 0, 13, and 7 in the last four games. 

He hasn’t been able to extend his stay in the middle - 4 of his 7 dismissals (57% of dismissals) have come inside the first 10 balls this season - resulting in Hardik dropping his big-hitting prowess for a more responsible role. While one can state that it has served them well, they are just one collapse away from sending their house to a frenzy. Given it is the SRH as the opposition for the mid-week clash, the newly-inducted franchise wouldn’t leave any stone unturned to bridge the gap.

Probable XIs:

Gujarat Titans: Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Shubman Gill, Hardik Pandya (c), Abhinav Manohar, David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Alzarri Joseph, Lockie Ferguson, Yash Dayal, Mohammed Shami

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Abhishek Sharma, Kane Williamson (c), Rahul Tripathi, Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Shashank Singh, Jagadeesha Suchith, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Marco Jansen, Umran Malik, T Natarajan

Venue: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

Time : April 27, 2022, 7:30 PM IST