Follow UsGujarat Titans and Rajasthan Royals have been the two best sides in the Indian Premier League since last year. Rajasthan lost seven games in the previous edition, including the final, and three of them came against the Titans. Sanju Samson and his men, however, got one up on Hardik Pandya and Co. earlier this season and would be eager to get one more win, which would help them to breakaway from the middle-table muddle.
Rajasthan are in the top-four, but there are a few things that haven’t gone as planned for the last year’s finalist. Off late, three of their experienced batters haven’t been amongst the runs, while the bowling unit is coming into this encounter after allowing Mumbai Indians to score 56 runs in the last four overs. Yashasvi Jaiswal smashed a breathtaking century, but RR still ended up conceding two points.
Meanwhile, Gujarat would be disappointed with their last game as well. They have won six of their nine games and a win here would take them one step closer to confirming their spot in the playoffs. The defending champions failed to hunt down 130 against Delhi Capitals, only their second defeat while chasing in the IPL, and would want to brush it aside as just a bad day at the office.
Things to watch out for
Time running out for Saha?
How long are Gujarat going to persist with Wriddhiman Saha? The wicketkeeper-batter played a massive role for them last season but hasn’t done much this year. 151 runs in nine innings at an average of 16.78 and a strike rate of 123.8 - those are mediocre numbers. He was GT’s powerplay basher last year (217 runs @ 54.25 and an SR of 133.95) but has been dismissed below 20 in six of his nine innings in IPL 2023.
The opposition have hardly bowled anything short to Saha and six of his seven dismissals against pace have come from good and full-lengths. Not once Gujarat have had an opening partnership of more than 50 and have the fourth-worst average (22.4) amongst all teams. Moreover, Saha would now be up against Trent Boult, against whom he averages just 7.3 in seven innings.
With Shubman Gill operating well at the other end, the Titans can bring in one of KS Bharat or Urvil Patel. The former did have a decent IPL 2021 for Royal Challengers Bangalore but he is not one of those bashers, which is what GT need. Hence, they could try out someone like Urvil. In the last season of SMAT, the 24-year-old smashed 162 runs in five innings at an average of 32.4 and at a strike rate of 167.
Shami and Boult’s new-ball threat
Watching Mohammed Shami and Trent Boult operate with the new ball is going to be fun. The two fast bowlers have been impeccable in the powerplay and could once again wreak havoc in Jaipur. Let’s talk about Shami first. The 32-year-old is the joint-leading wicket-taker this season but 12 of his 17 wickets have come in the powerplay.
In the last encounter against DC, Shami claimed four wickets in the powerplay. He has an economy of just 6.1 in the powerplay which is the third-best amongst bowlers who have bowled at least five overs in the powerplay. To add to it, he has also bowled the most dots (96) in this phase and has the second-highest dot percentage (64%).
Since 2019, there’s only one bowler who has picked up more powerplay wickets than Shami (37) and it’s Trent Boult (38). The left-arm Kiwi paceman from has taken seven wickets inside the first six overs and done that at an average of 16.7 and an economy rate of 6.9. Guess what, six of those seven wickets have come in the first over. The top-order from both sides will have to be careful on Friday (May 5).
Focus on RR’s big guns
Jaiswal (428 runs @ 47.56 and an SR of 159.70) and Dhruv Jurel (132 @ 26.4 and an SR of 191.3) have set the IPL 2023 on fire with their stunning stroke play but the Rajasthan team management would want their senior batters to step up as well. The Royals won four of their first five games but have now lost three of their last four encounters and it has largely to do with the form of Jos Buttler, Samson and Shimron Hetmyer.
Buttler smashed three fifties in the first five innings and operated at a strike rate of 163.2 but that number has dropped to 102.4 in the last four innings. Then, you have Samson, who got 157 runs at an SR of 165.3 in the first five games but has made just 55 in the last four innings at an SR of 119.6. Meanwhile, Hetmyer started the season with scores of 22*, 36, 39*, 30* and 56* but has managed only 21 runs in the last four matches.
Ground Details
The Royals played two of their home games in Guwahati, as a result, the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur has hosted only two matches so far this season. This isn’t one of your high-scoring venues, but again, this isn’t as bad as what we have witnessed in Lucknow. Batters here have scored runs at an average of 27.9 and a scoring rate of 8.4, while a wicket has fallen every 20 deliveries.
In IPL 2023, spinners here have better numbers than fast bowlers. They have gone at an economy of 7.7, an average of 28.3, and picked up a wicket every 22 deliveries, while the corresponding numbers for seamers are 8.5, 36.2 and 25.6 respectively. Both the games here have been won by the side batting first, with Lucknow Super Giants even defending 154.
Tactical Nous
Rashid Khan doesn’t have a great record in the powerplay this season (one wicket in four overs at an economy of 9.5) but could still be used against Buttler. The right-handed opener has been dismissed by Rashid four times in T20s and averages just 12.5 at a strike rate of less than 70.
Shami has been simply phenomenal with the new ball but hasn’t really troubled Samson in the past. The RR skipper has an average of 54 and a strike rate of 186 against Shami. The wicketkeeper-batter has a BPB of 2.9, which is his best against a bowler.
Probable XIs
Rajasthan Royals - Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson (C & WK), Devdutt Padikkal, Dhruv Jurel (IS*), Shimron Hetmyer, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jason Holder, Trent Boult, Sandeep Sharma, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldip Yadav (IS*)
Gujarat Titans - Wriddhiman Saha (WK), Shubman Gill (IS*), Hardik Pandya (C), Vijay Shankar, David Miller, Abhinav Manohar, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad, Mohammed Shami, Mohit Sharma (IS*), Joshua Little
*IS - Impact Sub