Jaipur: Dismayed by their batting performances lately, especially in their last outing, Gujarat Titans (GT) on Friday would be eager to make the match count against a top-notch but inconsistent Rajasthan Royals team. Both the teams would look to make amends after an underwhelming performance in their last outing and get back to winning ways.
In the points table, Gujarat Titans are sitting comfortably at the top position despite losing the last match against minnows Delhi Capitals while Rajasthan Royals are placed at fourth. The RR side, led by Sanju Samson, are more than capable than what their results suggest encompassing 3 losses and as many victories.
The much-accomplished RR bowling that boasts a bowling line-up of Trent Boult, all-rounder Jason Holder, spinner Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Sen could not save their team's score of 212, and leaked runs thanks to their wayward line and length.
The only comfort for Royals would be their impeccable team's players and their win during the last time they faced the Gujarat side. Rajasthan, a team that looks one of the strongest on paper has the ammunition required but their troika of Jos Buttler, skipper Sanju Samson and Shimron Hetmyer have failed to fire during opportune moments.
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However, even the most potent of attacks would be put to test in front of gutsy Mohammed Shami and wily Rashid Khan. The win is a much-needed one as it would push the RR team to the number one slot that currently has a net run rate of +0.800.
Titans would look to up the voltage after failure against the weakest team in terms of performances so far, Delhi, where they even failed to chase 130 runs. The rare failure of an in-form Shubman Gill and David Miller led to the loss, however, captain Pandya was gracious in taking acceptance of the defeat on to himself.
The bowling, although, have been a continuous bright side with Shami's movement off the seam persistently troubling batters coupled with magnificent length that he bowls. Put in the spinners in the mix, led by Rashid and Afghanistan's Noor Ahmad, RR will have a task cut out in what could be a nerve-wracking contest.
Teams (From):
Rajasthan Royals: Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson (c & wk), Dhruv Jorel, Riyan Parag, Shimron Hetmyer, R Ashwin, Jason Holder, Trent Boult, Sandeep Sharma, Yuzvendra Chahal, Navdeep Saini, M Ashwin, K M Asif, K C Cariappa, Donovan Ferreira, Devdutt Padikkal, Obed McCoy, Joe Root, Kuldeep Sen, Akash Vashist, Kuldip Yadav, Adam Zampa, Abdul Basith.
Gujarat Titans: Hardik Pandya (c), Shubman Gill, David Miller, Abhinav Manohar, Sai Sudharsan, Wriddhiman Saha, Matthew Wade, Rashid Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Vijay Shankar, Mohammed Shami, Alzarri Joseph, Yash Dayal, Pradeep Sangwan, Darshan Nalkande, Jayant Yadav, R. Sai Kishore, Noor Ahmad, Dasun Shanaka, Odean Smith, KS Bharat, Shivam Mavi, Urvil Patel, Joshua Little and Mohit Sharma.
Match starts 7.30 IST.
