GT vs RR: After a long wait of almost two months, we have got the four teams that will battle for one of the most prestigious trophies in T20 cricket. The two best teams from the league will meet in Qualifier 1. Gujarat Titans will face off against Rajasthan Royals in a battle of supremacy.
The match will take place in Eden Gardens, Kolkata at 7:30. Both teams played their best games throughout the season so far, but now every match or every ball is important. So these two teams would like to win this match to get the ticket to the IPL grand finale. So let’s check out the complete details of the match and possible XI.
GT vs RR: Match Preview and Prediction
Gujarat Titans
The Gujarat franchise has certainly built a really good team and that is the reason they have come to be the dark horse in this competition. The Gujarat Titans are the best team of the season to a certain extent. They have played like a complete unit and have the most players with “Man of the Match” awards. However, they lost their last game against RCB by a big margin.
So that should be a wake-up call for the team because now they can’t afford such games. GT needs two more wins to win their maiden title, and that too in their maiden season. Although Gujarat has already won one match between the two in the group stage. So they will be pretty confident in doing it one more time. The openers are in form. Hardik also scored a half-century in the last match. So that will give them the required confidence.
Probably XI: Wriddhiman Saha, Shubman Gill, Matthew Wade (Wk), Hardik Pandya (C), David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, R Sai Kishore, Lockie Ferguson/Alzarri Joseph, Yash Dayal, Mohammed Shami.
Rajasthan Royals
Sanju Samson and his team are coming off two good victories in their last two games against LSG and CSK. They must be pretty confident before heading into this game. RR has qualified for the playoffs after 2018 and won the title way back in 2008. So they will undoubtedly be looking to end their trophy drought. But for that, RR will have to go through the challenge of Gujarat.
They have already lost to them once, but this time RR would like to turn the tables around and go for the kill. The only concern for them is that Jos Buttler has struggled in the second half of the season. He scored 492 runs in the first seven matches, but after that only managed 137 in the next seven innings. So the franchise would like to see their best batter score some runs in this knockout stage. They would stick to the same winning combination.
Probably XI: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson (C & Wk), Devdutt Padikkal, Shimron Hetmyer, Riyan Parag, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Prasidh Krishna, Yuzvendra Chahal, Obed McCoy.
GT vs RR Match, Pitch and Toss Update
The traditional pitch at the Eden Gardens always assists spinners. And both teams have the best spinning bowlers in the competition, so that will be another battle to watch. However, the toss becomes more crucial in a knockout game. The team winning the toss would like to bat first to put some runs on the board and put pressure on other teams.
GT vs RR: Head to Head
Both teams have met once, and that too, in the 24th match of this season. It was the Gujarat Titans who came out victorious in that match. Batting first, GT posted a score of 192/4 in 20 overs and RR fell short of the target by 37 runs.
IPL 2022: GT vs RR: Players to watch out for
Hardik Pandya would be the batter who would like to take the responsibility. He was the “Man of the Match” when both teams met the last time. He scored 87 runs in that match and is coming off a knock of 62 against RCB as well. Hardik has been one of the best batters in the competition with 413 runs at an average of 41.30 and a strike rate of 131.52, including four half-centuries.
Rashid Khan has found his rhythm back and is now bowling a very tight line and taking wickets as well. In his first few matches he went wicketless, but now he is among the highest wicket-takers in the tournament. He is never easy to face for any batsman, and for RR’s middle-order he will be a big hurdle. Rashid has picked up 18 wickets so far at an impressive economy rate of 6.94 and a bowling average of 21.55.
Jos Buttler has struggled in the last few matches at the top of the order against the pacers. But still, by far, he is the best batsman in the tournament. As an experienced overseas player, he also knows how important this game is, so he might be looking for some change in tactics to score some runs. Buttler is currently the “Orange Cap” holder with 629 runs at an average of 48.38 and a strike rate of 146.96, with three centuries and three half-centuries.
Yuzvendra Chahal will be the dangerous man with the ball in hand. He is the highest wicket-taker of the season and is very dangerous in the middle order. Chahal is vastly experienced in bowling to any batsman. So far, the veteran leg-spinner has taken 26 wickets at an economy of 7.67 and an average of 16.53.
IPL 2022: Playing 11 team of the match Prediction
Wicket-keeper: Jos Buttler (RR), Sanju Samson (RR), Wriddhiman Saha (GT)
Batsmen: Shubman Gill (GT), Devdutt Padikkal (RR), Yashasvi Jaiswal (RR)
All-rounders: Hardik Pandya (GT), Ravichandran Ashwin (RR)
Bowlers: Rashid Khan (GT), Yuzvendra Chahal (RR), Mohammed Shami (GT)
Tips: Hardik Pandya will be the captain of the team. Jos Buttler will be the vice-captain. Both teams have big power-hitters in their ranks, but having won the last two matches, RR will have an extra edge. So we will back Rajasthan Royals to win the match. However, the team winning the toss might win the game as well.