TACTICAL PREVIEW
Follow UsWith four wins in four, Rajasthan Royals (RR) have shown that they mean business and are contenders for the crown. However, they have a Gujarat Titans (GT) challenge ahead of them, who have not just been one of the most consistent teams in the last two seasons but have also dominated it. However, consistency has eluded Shubman Gill’s side, who have won just two of their five games and are staring at their third straight defeat this season.
It’s still early days, and while you cannot win the title this early, you certainly can lose it. While RR need to guard up against complacency, GT, on the other hand, will hope they don’t leave it too late and play catch-up as far as a place in the top four is concerned.
Will the Royals continue to paint Jaipur pink, or will the Titans leave a mark? Regardless, it promises to be an enticing battle at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium on April 10 (Wednesday).
RR vs GT Head-to-Head
Overall - Games 5 | RR 1 | GT 4
In Jaipur Games 1 | RR 0 | GT 1
Venue and Condition Details
Both pacers and spinners have enjoyed almost equal success in terms of picking up wickets. However, the spinners (8.3) have been far more economical than the pacers (9) and also have a better balls per wicket (21.2) and runs per wicket ratio (21.2), compared to the pacers for whom the corresponding numbers are 24.9 and 37.4 respectively.
The average first-innings score at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in IPL 2023 is 178 and the team batting first have gone on to win five of the eight matches in this period. Teams batting first have also gone on to win two of the three matches this season here. There’s little doubt that the captain winning the toss would certainly want to bat first and put runs on the board.
Weather Forecast
The temperature in Jaipur is expected to be 31°C at the start of the game, but could come down to 28°C by the time the match ends. The humidity throughout the game is expected to be over 40%, with almost no chance of any showers.
Things to watch out for
Will Rashid step up?
Rashid Khan has had a quiet IPL by his standards, and will hope to set the records straight as he takes on RR, one of his favourite opponents, having accumulated nine wickets against them in the last five matches. Moreover, a few player match-ups could work out in his favour. He has dismissed Jos Buttler and Riyan Parag a combined five times, giving away just 41 runs off 60 deliveries.
While Rashid’s campaign – five wickets at 34.6 (SR 24) - in five matches does not induce much confidence in the wily leg-spinner, this could be the game in which he turns his campaign around.
Can Jos continue to boss?
After a string of low scores, Jos Buttler returned to form with a century against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on April 6 (Saturday). However, can he keep it going? His opening partner, Yashasvi Jaiswal, has had no luck so far; he has managed scores of 34, 5, 10 and 0 so far. As far as Buttler is concerned, RR would be delighted to have him back in form, more so in the second innings, where that century was his first 50-plus score while chasing in the IPL since 2023.
Sai Sudharsan – consistent but not consistent enough
Sai Sudharsan has scored 30 or more in every innings this season, continuing his excellent form following good performances for India A against England Lions. However, a big score has eluded him so far. Moreover, while he starts his innings off well, scoring at a strike rate of 134 (BPB 6.2) in the first 20 balls of his innings, he slows down a tad in his next 20 deliveries, in which he strikes at 120 (BPB 8.1).
To his credit, he has been excellent against spin this season, striking at 136 against them (1 dismissal), but against the pacers, it goes down to 124 (4 dismissals). Sandeep Sharma and Avesh Khan could potentially be a threat to the southpaw.
Probable XIs:
While Rajasthan are expected to go in with the same team, there could be a change or two depending on the fitness of David Miller, Wriddhiman Saha and Azmatullah Omarzai for Gujarat
Rajasthan Royals: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson (c & wk), Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Avesh Khan, Nandre Burger, Yuzvendra Chahal; Sandeep Sharma/Shubham Dubey (IP)
Gujarat Titans: Shubman Gill (c), Sharath BR/Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Sai Sudharsan, Vijay Shankar, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad, Umesh Yadav, Spencer Johnson/Azmatullah Omarzai, Darshan Nalkande, Mohit Sharma; David Miller/Darshan Nalkande (IP)
Telecast and Streaming Details
The match will be live on Star Sports Network and live-streamed on Jio Cinema. The game will start at 7.30 PM, with the toss happening at 7:00 PM.
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