They’ve been the second-fastest scoring side this season, and their bowling has breathed fire. Josh Hazlewood is in top form, Bhuvneshwar Kumar remains a threat across phases, and Krunal Pandya has effectively gone against conventional match-ups, even against left-handers. The onus, then, is firmly on GT to lay down the marker.
GT’s top three of Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan and Jos Buttler have contributed 70% of their runs, but the middle order continues to look fragile. The management has persisted with the same players for a while, though the last two games have seen a tweak, with Jason Holder finally brought in to bolster the middle order apart from the overs he delivers.
Adding to their concerns is Rashid Khan’s dip in returns over the last few games. He’s gone for runs without his usual control, conceding 21 in the lone over he bowled against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and 2 for 49 in four overs against RCB at the Chinnaswamy. Across his last five innings, he’s leaked runs at an economy rate of 10 while picking up just three wickets, a rare downturn for someone so consistently reliable over the years.
GT will be hoping Rashid, along with the rest of their attack, rediscovers its wicket-taking ways against one of the most feared batting line-ups. With the business end approaching, momentum is on the line. A win would keep GT within touching distance of the top four and help them break away from the logjam in the bottom half, with CSK, Mumbai Indians, Kolkata Knight Riders and Lucknow Super Giants all bunched together.
Gujarat Titans WLLWW (last five completed games, most recent first)
Royal Challengers Bengaluru WWLWW
GT didn’t play either Ashok Sharma or Prasidh Krishna in their previous game. It’s likely one of them will be back in the mix as the Impact Player.
GT probable XII: 1 Shubman Gill (capt), 2 B Sai Sudharsan, 3 Jos Buttler (wk), 4 Washington Sundar, 5 Shahrukh Khan, 6 Rahul Tewatia, 7 Jason Holder, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Mohammed Siraj, 11 Manav Suthar, 12 Prasidh Krishna/Ashok Sharma.
RCB are sweating over Phil Salt’s fitness. If he’s ready, it’s likely he’ll slot back in for Jacob Bethell.
RCB probable XII: 1 Virat Kohli, 2 Phil Salt/Jacob Bethell, 3 Devdutt Padikkal, 4 Rajat Patidar (capt), 5 Jitesh Sharma (wk), 6 Tim David, 7 Romario Shepherd, 8 Krunal Pandya, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Josh Hazlewood, 11 Suyash Sharma, 12 Rasikh Dar/Venkatesh Iyer
Purely as a wicketkeeper, Jitesh Sharma has arguably been among the best this season. RCB will be hoping that form carries into his batting. With a highest of 23 in six innings, he’s yet to kick into top gear. It mirrors last season, when he began slowly before exploding late, highlighted by an unbeaten 85 off 33 against LSG to vault RCB into the top two, and a 24 off 10 in the final. This time, he’ll be keen to spark that turnaround sooner.
Rahul Tewatia has played seven of GT’s eight games, yet his role remains puzzling. He’s faced just 42 balls, been held back even at the death, and hasn’t bowled a single over. All while GT’s middle order searches for identity and form. Time is running out, but to make an impact, he needs time in the middle. Will GT give it to him?
This is the same surface that hosted last year’s IPL final, where RCB defended 190. In the only IPL game played on this deck so far this season, KKR were bowled out for 180 – below the par score of 199 on this deck – with GT chasing it down comfortably by five wickets. Ahmedabad has been reeling under oppressive weather conditions with temperatures touching 43 degrees. This has meant the surface has been watered a tad more than usual. It should largely be an even red-soil surface with runs aplenty.
“We don’t talk to our players about being fearless. I think it’s a very normal human thing to feel fear or doubt. We rather chat with them about recognising those feelings and then dealing with them well. And we go about it that way.”
RCB head coach Andy Flower
“I don’t want to give an excuse of lights or anything else. We know that catching needs to be better. There is no doubt about it and we have spoken about it.”
GT assistant coach Parthiv Patel is point-blank on what needs to improve
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