Defending champions Gujarat Titans (GT) are set to welcome Rajasthan Royals (RR)at on their home turf of Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad for match 23 of IPL 2023 on Sunday.
It will be a repeat of last year's final as it was at the Narendra Modi stadium where GT defeated RR by 7 wickets to win the tournament in their maiden IPL appearance.
Naturally, the Sanju Samson led Rajasthan Royals will still be hurting from that loss deep inside and would be in a mood of a revenge.
The two teams head into this high-profile clash on the back of wins in their previous fixtures.
While GT are high on confidence after defeating Punjab Kings, RR had a close shave against Chennai Super Kings but eventually emerged victorious. The results has meant that both GT and RR are among the top-3 teams on the IPL 2023 points tally and have a shot to claim the top spot.
GT will be hoping that come Sunday, its young opener Shubman Gill is again on song. Gill has blasted two scintillating fifties this season that has often led to GT getting solid starts. Then there will also be excitement around left-handed batter Sai Sudharsan. Like Gill, Sudharsan too has hit two half-centuries this year and has locked the no.3 spot for himself in the team's batting order.
It is not just the young guns who are shining for the defending champions this season. In their last match, veteran pacer Mohit Sharma tormented the Punjab Kings batters returning figures of 2 for 18 in his four overs. Mohit had replaced Yash Dayal for his first IPL game in three years after the latter had gone for five consecutive sixes in five balls in GT's match against Kolkata Knight Riders. With leg spinner Rashid Khan also amongst the wickets and claiming the season's first hat-trick, defending champions look a settled unit ahead of this fixture.
In opposite camp, RR are pinning their hopes on Jos Buttler. After enjoying his best IPL season last year, the English wicketkeeper batsman is against amongst runs this season.
The explosive opener has returned with the scores of 54, 19, 79 and 52 from four outings. It would be doubly good for RR if Buttler gets a good support from his fellow opener Yashasvi Jaiswal. Jaiswal has hit two fifties. Buttler and Jaiswal form a potent right-left opening combo for the team and become a big headache for the oppositions.
In bowling RR mainly rely on its experienced spin duo of R Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal to deliver the goods. The two spinners have claimed 16 wickets in total this season. The likes of Trent Boult, Jason Holder and Sandeep Sharma add further heft to RR's bowling attack.
There are some concerns regarding Boult's participation in the match as he did not play RR's previous match due to slight niggle.
Probable playing XIs
GT probable playing XI:
Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Shubman Gill, Hardik Pandya (C), Vijay Shankar, David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Mohammed Shami, Josh Little, Rashid Khan, Mohit Sharma, Alzarri Joseph.
RR probable playing XI:
Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson (capt, wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Holder, Devdutt Padikkal/Riyan Parag, R Ashwin, Sandeep Sharma, Yuzvendra Chahal, Trent Boult/Adam Zampa, Kuldeep Sen.
Player to watch out
Sai Sudharsan (GT)
Gujarat Titans is a team that is brimming with talent and match winners. However if there is one player who is enjoying a breakthrough season is young Sai Sudharsan. The young left handed batter has shouldered the responsibility of batting at no.3 quiet well in absence of Kane Williamson. Expect more brilliant knocks from Sudharsan as the season progresses.
Jos Buttler (RR)
Jos Buttler has carried his IPL 2022 form into this season as well. Should Buttler have another explosive start, no total is beyond reach for Rajasthan Royals.
Pitch
The average first-innings winning score since IPL 2021 at this venue has been 175. The teams love to chase at this venue as the pitches are batting friendly right through the course of the match.
Where to watch
The match starts at 7.30 PM IST. If you want to watch it live on TV then switch to Star Sports network. To catch the action online log into Jio Cinemas
