Last season’s finalists Gujarat Titans and Rajasthan Royals clash in the 23rd Indian Premier League 2023 match at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday.
Both Gujarat and Rajasthan enter this fixture with three wins from their opening four games, including a last-over thriller wins in their last respective match. The reigning champions returned to winning ways with an impressive six-wicket win over Punjab Kings while Rajasthan Royals topped the points table after beating Chennai Super Kings by three runs in their last game.
What Have They Done So Far?
Focusing on Hardik Pandya–led Gujarat Titans, it’s been four games for them and it will be safe to say that they are once again in the race for the top-two finish. They started the season with dominating wins over Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Capitals in their first two games but suffered their first defeat of the season against Kolkata Knight Riders.
Yash Dayal conceded 69 runs, including 31 in the last over, while defending 204 runs against Kolkata Knight Riders. The left-arm pacer was dropped for the Punjab game with Mohit Sharma taking his place while Hardik returned to captain the team after missing the previous game due to illness.
Mohit made a big impact with two wickets for 18 as Punjab Kings managed to score just 153/8 at Mohali’s PCA IS Bindra Stadium. The wicket turned out to be good for the bowlers as Gujarat also struggled in their chase. Shubman Gill continued his red-hot form with another half-century while Wriddhiman Saha added 30 runs to give the Titans a promising opening.
But Punjab bowlers made a remarkable comeback in the death overs to balance the game and almost managed to defend the total. Rahul Tewatia had other plans smashing the winning runs on the fifth delivery of the 20th over when the Titans needed four runs to win. It was a crucial win for Gujarat but not a convincing win as they bottled a good start and a promising position in the last few overs.
Rajasthan Royals are leading the points table after their win against Chennai Super Kings
On the other hand, Rajasthan Royals survived a late scare against Chennai Super Kings to clinch two big points. Jos Buttler recorded his third fifty of the season and the returning Devdutt Padikkal added quick 38 runs to help Rajasthan score 175/8 while batting first. Ravichandran Ashwin also showcased his batting skills again by scoring 30 off 22 while batting in the no.5 position, ahead of Shimron Hetmyer and Dhruv Jurel.
Kuldeep Sen featured in the playing XI for the first time this season and impressed with his economical two-over spell. But as expected, the spinners were top of their game at Chennai’s spin-friendly surface.
Both Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal bagged two wickets each while debutant Adam Zampa picked one to hold off Chennai batters. MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja almost pulled off a stunning chase but Sandeep Sharma denied Dhoni a big shot on the innings’ last delivery with a match-winning yorker.
Meanwhile, Padikkal started in the place of Riyan Parag and the latter is likely to warm the bench again in the upcoming game. Trent Boult missed the game due to a small niggle but is expected to return to the playing XI in the place of Sandeep Sharma. Gujarat Titans are unlikely to tinker with their winnings combination for the Rajasthan game, which means Yash Dayal sitting out again.
Head to Head Record
Gujarat Titans comfortably lead the head-to-head record against their neighbors. Gujarat and Rajasthan faced each other three times last season and Hardik’s team emerged victorious on all three occasions, including in the final. Gujarat won the IPL 2022 final by seven wickets while chasing a 131-run target with Hardik taking three wickets and scoring 34 runs.
Considering the start of the season for both teams, fans might witness another close encounter between two top teams.
Key Players
Jos Buttler has recorded three fifties from four innings in IPL 2023 so far
Jos Buttler (Rajasthan Royals): The English big-hitter has started the IPL 2023 campaign with three fifties from the opening four games and is the favorite to retain the Orange Cap again. He scored 52 off just 36 against Chennai Super Kings and now is the third in the leading run-scorer chart with 204 runs from four innings at an amazing strike rate of 170.
Buttler has impressive numbers against Gujarat where he has scored 182 runs from just three innings with the help of two fifties.
Rashid Khan (Gujarat Titans): The Afghanistan spin ace bowled out Matthew Short to give the Titans a big breakthrough against Punjab Kings in the last game. Rashid is enjoying a sensational start in IPL 2023 with nine wickets from four innings, including a hat-trick against Kolkata Knight Riders.
Rashid has taken five wickets from two innings at Ahemadabad’s pitch this season and will be looking forward to another impactful spell in the upcoming game.
Predicted XIs
Gujarat Titans: Shubman Gill, Wriddhiman Saha, Sai Sudharsan, Hardik Pandya ©, David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Alzarri Joseph, Mohammed Shami, Mohit Sharma, Joshua Little
Rajasthan Royals: Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson ©, Devdutt Padikkal, Shimron Hetmyer, Dhruv Jurel, Jason Holder, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Kuldeep Sen, Yuzvendra Chahal
Prediction
Gujarat Titans enter this game as favorites due to home advantage and past records against Rajasthan Royals. They have won all three encounters against Rajasthan Royals and will be motivated to maintain a winning streak after a crucial win against Punjab Kings.
However, Rajasthan Royals are topping the table at the moment and have won both of their away games this season. Boult’s return will further strengthen their bowling attack so fans will not be surprised if they emerge victorious on Sunday.