Indian T20 League 2023

RAJ vs GUJ, 48th Match

Preview

Rajasthan will clash against Gujarat in the third home game of the season. They need to get accustomed to their home ground in order to make the most of the home ground situations. Three out of their five games including this match versus Gujarat will be played at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. 

The pitch was a bit slower in the game against Lucknow, and the venue was challenging for new batters to score runs. Yet the Rajasthan side managed to score 202 runs while batting first in the game against Chennai in the following match on this ground. 

Gujarat have a good track record just like their previous run in the Indian T20 League but struggled on sluggish surfaces in the past matches against Lucknow and Ahmedabad. They now would consider playing on a certain surface where they can use most of their batting strength.

Shubman Gill, Abhinav Manohar, and Hardik Pandya are all key players who are valuable assets in Gujarat’s batting side. Tewatia has already been approved in the role of a finisher in the lineup. Mohammad Shami is unstoppable with the ball and ensures his side stays on top in the powerplay.

The home side is going through a rough patch as they have seen more defeats in their recent fixtures. Out of their last four outings, they lost three games. This is duly alarming and they need to improve from their mistakes before things start to get out of their hand. The one-time champions lost their last match against Rohit Sharma led Mumbai by six wickets. Furthermore, they failed to score 189 runs against Bangalore and fell short of 10 runs while chasing 155 run target against Lucknow.

The match at Wankhede was indeed special for Rajasthan batter Yashasvi Jaiswal who smashed a century and took his side to a total of 212 runs while batting first. Yet losing after such efforts would definitely not be the thing the camp have expected. 

Kuldeep Sen who came in as a replacement for Kuldip Yadav was hit for 20 runs against Mumbai. Experienced pacerstar Trent Boult have to step up and bring early breakthroughs in the powerplay. If he gives off his over then the opposition will end up scoring a huge total at the end. 

Jason Holder has turned out to be very expensive and also wicketless in his last three games. He is among the experienced players who haven’t delivered for his side till now. The likes of Sandeep Sharma and Ravichandran Ashwin also add depth to the bowling attack of their bowling.

The Sanju Samson’s side this time has the potential to win the trophy. The skipper just needs to play a longer inning as he gets a good start but fails to convert it into a big score. Jaiswal is one of the best-uncapped players present in this league this season. Also, Dhruv Jurel has shown how to hit big shots coming down the order.

Gujarat were the favourites to win the last game against Delhi in front of their home crowd. Shami’s dominance in the powerplay overs brought down Delhi to 23-5 in just 5 overs. Later the Delhi batters played in a quite defensive manner and somehow took their side to a score of 130. Surprisingly the away team defended the total and won a stunner.

Hope this loss was a learning experience for Hardik Pandya and co. Their bowling side consists of players like Mohammad Shami, Dhruv Jurel, Joshua Little, Noor Ahmed and Rashid Khan who are all in sublime form.

As it seems there is no problem with Gujarat’s bowling and we can consider their key bowlers to deliver at crucial points. Saha has been struggling a bit but the way he started playing at the beginning of the league would throw some light to his recovery. Shubman is no doubt the best player who is almost carrying the side. Hardik is finding it difficult to perform on tricky surfaces but we can expect a good start from him in this match. 

Match Details

Match: RAJ vs GUJ, 48th Match, IND T20 League 2023

Date: Friday, May 05, 2023

Time: 07:30 PM

Venue: Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur

Pitch and Weather Report

The surface here becomes to slow down as the match progresses, and spinners will get a good grip and turn here. The batsmen will need to focus on the ball for a few overs before they can freely swing the bat. The Sawai Mansingh Stadium isn’t the most comfortable to bat, and any score over 180 can be difficult here to chase.

The weather is predicted to remain a bit warm at around 30 degrees Celsius. 

RAJ vs GUJ Squads

RAJ: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler(WK), Sanju Samson(WK)(C), Devdutt Padikkal, Riyan Parag, Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Holder, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, KM Asif, Yuzvendra Chahal, Dhruv Jurel, Obed McCoy, Abdul Basith, Adam Zampa, Sandeep Sharma, KC Cariappa, Murugan Ashwin, Akash Vasisht, Donavon Ferreira, Kunal Singh Rathore(WK), Kuldip Yadav, Joe Root, Navdeep Saini, Kuldeep Sen

GUJ: Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan, Hardik Pandya (c), David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Alzarri Joseph, Mohammed Shami, Mohit Sharma, Joshua Little, Vijay Shankar, Shivam Mavi, Jayant Yadav, Abhinav Manohar, Srikar Bharat, Yash Dayal, Matthew Wade, Pradeep Sangwan, Dasun Shanaka, Odean Smith, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Darshan Nalkande, Urvil Patel, Noor Ahmad

RAJ vs GUJ Probable Playing XIs

RAJ: Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson, Riyan Parag, Devdutt Padikkal, Shimron Hetmyer, R Ashwin, Trent Boult, Prasidh Krishna, Yuzvendra Chahal, Obed McCoy

GUJ: Wriddhiman Saha, Shubman Gill, Hardik Pandya, Matthew Wade, David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Yash Dayal, R Sai Kishore, Alzarri Joseph/Lockie Ferguson, Mohammed Shami.

Match Prediction

The two sides have quite similar performances this season. Rajasthan has a good bowling department though their captain has not been able to convert good starts into big knocks. It is now upto Boult’s form that the rest of the bowling side depends. Ashwin and Chahal are already delivering and definitely pose a tough challenge to the Gujarat batters. If it's a sluggish surface, Gujarat will definitely struggle to perform to chase or even set a good target, batting in the first place. Also with the home advantage, Rajasthan will be the firm favourites to win this match. 

Top Fantasy Picks

Yashasvi Jaiswal- In nine matches this season, he has recorded the most runs for his franchise. With 428 runs, he is amongst the strongest contenders in the orange cap race this season of the Indian T20 League. He is averaging at 47.55 and has a strike rate of 159.70.

Yuzvendra Chahal- He has taken 12 wickets at an average of 23.25, an economy rate of 8.45.

Shubman Gill- He has smashed 339 runs till now and is the top run-scorer for his franchise this season, and has an average of 37.66 with a strike rate of 140.66. 

Rashid Khan- He has taken 15 scalps in nine matches with an economy of 8.55, and an average of 20.53, he is among the highest wicket-takers this season.

Risky Captaincy Choice

Trent Boult- His silence should not be taken for granted as he is one of the most fierce bowlers in the history of the league. Despite his substandard performance, he has managed to pick 10 wickets this season thus far.

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