Unswerving Gujarat aim to edge closer to playoffs

Up to the present moment, IPL 2022 has been a competition that has made a mockery of pre-tournament predictions. Chennai Super Kings were the unanimous choice to make the playoffs but halfway into the tournament, they are barely in contention. Sunrisers Hyderabad were projected to struggle but they’ve looked as dangerous as anyone, and are very much in the mix to make it to the top four. Likewise, teams like Delhi and Punjab have slightly fallen below expectations after enjoying a terrific auction.

In terms of major surprises, however, nothing has come close to the Gujarat Titans sitting mighty at the top of the table, 33 games into the tournament.

The Titans, across the draft and the auction, managed to put together a formidable bowling line-up but they looked thin on the batting front. GT’s batting looked like it relied far too much on the superstars to do the heavy-lifting. 

Quite remarkably, however, the big names have thus managed to carry the load and complement the bowling; it is one of the major reasons why, against all odds, they are sitting at the top of the table.  

After Shubman Gill and Hardik Pandya did their thing in the first couple of weeks, it was David Miller who decided to become a superhero in Gujarat’s last game. At 48/4 in the 8th over, chasing 170, the Titans looked down and out, but Miller played his best IPL knock in nearly a decade to take his side to a fifth win in six matches. 

What Miller’s knock, and subsequently the victory against CSK, has done is that put Gujarat in a position where, with still 8 games left in the group stages, they can now see a playoff spot. Victory against the Knight Riders on Saturday will mean they will not just edge extremely close to the playoffs, but arguably have a foot in it.

And heading into Saturday, the Titans have every reason to believe that they can be 6-1 at the halfway point of the season, for they’ll be up against a Knight Riders side that’s currently in a three-match losing streak. 

KKR began their season in Gujarat’esque fashion, winning 3 of their first 4 matches, but since then it’s been a trainwreck. They were comprehensively beaten by both Delhi and Sunrisers, but Shreyas Iyer’s side would be deeply hurt by the defeat against the Royals. The Knight Riders, against RR, had the game comfortably in the bag at one point, but still failed to get over the line. 

The unfavorable result against RR at the Brabourne has made Saturday’s clash a must-win one for Iyer and KKR. A defeat would make it four losses in a row, but most importantly dent their playoff chances severely. 

Time for the Titans to go back to Sai Sudharsan?

Gujarat, so far, have largely been carried by their superstars on the batting front, but that is something that is unsustainable. At some point, they’ll need the others to chip in with valuable contributions. Players like Abhinav Manohar and Rahul Tewatia have already done their bit, but the Titans continue to be let down by the experienced Vijay Shankar.

After posting scores of 4 and 13 in the first two games, Shankar missed the next two due to an apparent back spasm. His replacement, young Sai Sudharsan, did a more-than-decent job filling in, but as soon as Shankar regained fitness, GT went back to the veteran. 

However, the 31-year-old has not even come close to repaying the faith the management’s shown in him; since returning, he’s accumulated 2 runs off 9 balls across 2 matches. 

Shankar’s continued inclusion in the side could have been understandable had he been utilized more with the ball, but in four games, the Tamil Nadu all-rounder has bowled a grand total of 9 balls. 

There seems to be no valid justification, then, for the Titans to continue picking Shankar despite his replacement showing more promise and potential. Perhaps it’s time for the table toppers to lay their faith in youth, rather than experience. 

KKR might have no choice but to bring back Tim Southee

Despite Tim Southee returning combined figures of 5/56 against Punjab and RCB, the Knight Riders opted to replace the New Zealander with Pat Cummins for their clash against Mumbai. Skipper Iyer described it as an extremely tough call, but when Cummins smashed the joint-fastest fifty in IPL history, it seemed like the right one. 

Since then, however, the Knight Riders have immensely missed the presence of Southee in the attack. Cummins has not just failed to provide the cutting edge with the ball, but has been a liability.

Since replacing Southee in the starting XI, the Australian has leaked runs at an eye-watering economy of 12. Among bowlers who have sent down 15 or more overs this season, no one has a worse ER. Not even Odean Smith, who has now been dropped from the Punjab Kings’ starting XI.

There would have been incentive for KKR to keep Cummins in the XI if he’d at least delivered with the bat, but since the blitz against Mumbai, Cummins’ scores have read 4(3), 3(3) and 0 (1). 

The Australian’s hideous form with the ball has meant Umesh Yadav getting no support whatsoever from any of the other seamers, with Shivam Mavi also not settling into the side smoothly. 

A few games ago, KKR dropping Cummins might have been unthinkable, but, presently, the Knight Riders might have no choice but to bring back Tim Southee.

KKR need Aaron Finch to keep the good work going

The KKR fans went mild when the franchise announced that they were signing Aaron Finch as Alex Hales’ replacement. In fact, some were of the opinion that the team would be better off keeping Ajinkya Rahane, rather than wasting an overseas spot by playing Finch.

But against Rajasthan, Finch played his best IPL knock in years to give a timely reminder of his capabilities. 

The Australian white-ball skipper tore into the RR bowlers, and smashed a stunning 28-ball 58 to set up the chase for his side. He looked fidgety for the first five balls or so, but once he got his eye in, Finch looked unstoppable. 

That was quite the knock, but KKR would want the Victorian to bat the same way in the games to come, and preferably make a similar impact. The opening spot has been KKR’s weakest area, so much so that they currently do not even know who the second opener is. But if Finch could cause destruction with the willow in hand, that’ll automatically end up elevating the side, for it’ll allow McCullum to use his middle-order batters flexibly. 

Probable XIs

GT: Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Shubman Gill, Vijay Shankar / Sai Sudharsan, Hardik Pandya, David Miller, Abhinav Manohar, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan (c), Alzarri Joseph, Lockie Ferguson, Mohammed Shami

KKR: Venkatesh Iyer, Aaron Finch, Shreyas Iyer (c), Nitish Rana, Andre Russell, Sheldon Jackson (wk), Sunil Narine, Tim Southee / Pat Cummins, Shivam Mavi, Umesh Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy