Delhi Capitals will be bidding to cause a turnaround and score their first win in the 16th edition of the Indian Premier League when they will square off against Gujarat Titans. The two teams are all set to battle it out against each other at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Tuesday.
Gujrat Titans looked in perfect sync in the season opener against Chennai Super Kings as they excelled in all facets of the game be it batting, bowling, or fielding. Shubman Gill was the standout performer for the side with the bat while Rashid Khan looked great with the ball and took home the man of the match award. With two points to their name, the Titans are occupying the second place in the points table, just behind Lucknow Super Giants.
As far as Delhi Capitals are concerned, they are reeling at the last place after a defeat in their first game against Lucknow Super Giants. The team was not impressive with the bat and will be thus forward to redeeming itself on Sunday.
What has happened so far?
The defending champions Gujarat Titans kick-started the tournament in a stunning fashion with a five-wicket win over the Chennai Super Kings. Batting first, CSK were restricted to a score of 178 runs in their allotted 20 overs as Rashid Khan, Mohammed Shami, and Alzarri Joseph picked two wickets each.
Following the score, the Titans won in 19.2 overs as Shubman Gill came up with a knock of 63 runs off 36 balls. Rashid Khan and Rahul Tewatia also made short yet effective cameos by adding 15 and ten runs respectively to the scoreboard.
Speaking of Delhi Capitals, they failed to chase 194 runs against Lucknow Super Giants and registered a defeat by 50 runs. The DC bowlers looked completely out of touch as all of them conceded runs at an economy rate of over 7.5.
With the bat, David Warner made good efforts but the lack of support from other players resulted in the team collapsing at 143 runs.
Head to Head Record
Gujarat Titans have an edge over Delhi Capitals in the head-to-head records
Gujarat Titans are leading the head-to-head records against Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League. The Titans made their debut in the league the last season and have played against Delhi just once so far.
The group game witnessed an all-round performance by Hardik Pandya & Men as they defended 171 runs with ease in the allotted 20 overs to record a win by 14 runs. Playing on Tuesday, the Capitals will have a chance to level the scores against the defending champions.
Key Players
David Warner (Delhi Capitals)
Delhi Capitals could not do much when they had to chase 194 runs against Lucknow Super Giants as they collapsed at a score of 143. However, there was one batter, David Warner, who made headlines owing to his good form. The skipper led from the front in the game and returned with a good knock of 56 runs.
He was the only positive for his franchise in an otherwise disappointing performance. Another decent performance will be expected from the Australian veteran as DC will be eying an entry into the winning ways.
Shubman Gill (Gujarat Titans)
Shubman Gill was the man in action as Gujarat Titans scored a five-wicket win against Chennai Super Kings in the season opener. When the team was given the task of chasing 179 runs in 20 overs, the young lad smacked 63 runs off just 36 balls with the help of six boundaries and three maximums.
The batter is again expected to replicate his good performance on Tuesday to take his team to another victory in the 2023 edition of the Indian Premier League.
Predicted Playing XIs
Delhi Capitals: David Warner ©, Prithvi Shaw, Mitchell Marsh, Rilee Rossouw, Sarfaraz Khan (wk), Rovman Powell, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Chetan Sakariya, Anrich Nortje, Mukesh Kumar
Gujarat Titans: Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Shubman Gill, Kane Williamson, Hardik Pandya ©, Vijay Shankar, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Mohammed Shami, Joshua Little, Yash Dayal, Alzarri Joseph
Prediction
Delhi Capitals are expected to put up their best performance on Tuesday in a bid to score their first win. However, it will be a difficult task for the David Warner-led side as Gujarat Titans will walk into the game as favorites. The defending champions will be buzzing with confidence and momentum after scoring a big win against Chennai Super Kings by five wickets.
The GT batters and bowlers are in a good rhythm in the tournament and are expected to score another victory to reclaim their position at the top of the points table.