Follow UsGujarat Titans (GT) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) have played two and won one game each, but that’s where the similarities end.
While GT managed to make a late miraculous comeback against Mumbai Indians and win their first encounter by six runs, they were absolutely pulverised by 63 runs by Chennai Super Kings at Chepauk.
There are some evident issues in their bowling when bowling on flat tracks, and if the pitch in Ahmedabad is a road, then GT might seriously struggle to contain the opposition this time. Because they’ll be up against a batting lineup full of butchers of the cricket ball.
SRH are riding high on the batting form of Heinrich Klaasen, who is second on the list of highest run scorers this season with an astronomical strike rate of 227. Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma showed their true colours against MI when they scored 277 - the highest-ever total in the IPL history.
The contest between a bowling lineup under pressure and a batting lineup riding on an insane amount of confidence can end only one way. But cricket, like most things in life, is a game of uncertainties, and GT will have to play hard to make that true once more.
GT vs SRH Head-to-Head
Overall - Games 3 | GT 2 | SRH 1
At Ahmedabad - Games 1 | GT 1 | SRH 0
Venue and Condition Details
The surface between GT and MI during the first game of IPL 2024 was true for most parts, and batters could trust the bounce on the surface. However, the ball did stick in the pitch now and then, and hence, someone like Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohit Sharma could really exploit that from the surface, as the latter showed in that game against MI.
The average first innings score has been 193 at this venue since IPL 2023, and you can once again expect a high-scoring game, considering the strength of the two batting lineups.
The weather is expected to remain dry and mildly hot, with the evening temperatures dwindling in the low 30s.
Things to Watch Out For
Sai Sudharsan needs to up his strike rate
Sudharsan occupies a crucial position in the GT batting order. With the Wriddhiman Saha and Shubman Gill opening partnership not being the most solid opening partnership in the IPL, Sudharsan at three needs to consolidate and accelerate at the same time.
He did that role perfectly in the 2023 season, scoring 362 runs in eight innings at a strike rate of 141 and an average of 51.7. However, in the two innings this season, he has done well to score 82 runs in the two games so far, but his strike rate has been just 117.
He has the game to go big against both pacers and spinners, and strike rates of 135 and 132 against both bowling types reflect the same. Hence, when he’ll be up against SRH, he’ll have to ensure that his runs come at a much quicker pace because the opposition is full of batters who can strike north of 150.
Travis Head - A game changer for SRH
There is nothing that Travis Head can do wrong in his life at the moment. After acing all three formats for Australia in the last few years, winning two ICC trophies, he began the IPL 2024 with an explosion that saw 62 runs being scored off just 24 balls, which set the base for SRH to reach the zenith of team totals in IPL history.
Since 2022, he has been striking at 173 in the powerplay, scoring a boundary every third ball. Safe to say Head won’t need the SRH jersey to draw eyeballs towards him when he takes up the field tomorrow.
Probable XIs
SRH - Mayank Agarwal, Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klassen (wk), Abdul Samad, Shahbaz Ahmed, Pat Cummins (c), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mayank Markande, Jaydev Unadkat, T Natarajan (IP)
GT - Shubman Gill (c), Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Sai Sudarshan, Vijay Shankar, Azmatullah Omarzai, David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, R Sai Kishore, Umesh Yadav, Mohit Sharma (IP), Spencer Johnson
Streaming and TV Broadcast Details
The match will begin at 3:30 pm, with the toss happening 30 minutes before, and will stream at Jio Cinema. On TV, you can watch it on Star Sports in India.