In the 24th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022, Rajasthan Royals (RR) will be locking horns with Gujarat Titans (GT) on April 14th, at the Dr. DY Patil Sports Academy, Navi Mumbai. RR had made a brilliant start to their campaign by winning the first two games. After losing the third match, they got back to the winning track. However, the path forward is a tough one as they face a few in-form teams in the upcoming games.
Gujarat Titans’ unbeaten run came to an end after their loss against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) after winning their first three games. Just like their next opponent, the next few games are going to be tough for them. Whether or not the Titans make a strong case for a top-four finish would be defined by these next few games. For RR, the veteran pacer, Trent Boult has continued to reign fire with the new ball and has been equally impressive in the slog overs.
ALSO READ: Match 24 (RR vs GT) – Fantasy XI And Probable XI
Prasidh Krishna has given a glimpse of why he is touted to be the next fast-bowling sensation in Indian cricket. Alongside Boult, the duo has bowled with pace and aggression. Rookie Kuldeep Sen too proved he has the stomach to play with the bigwigs. He performed tremendously under pressure on his debut, defending 15 runs off the last over against LSG. On that note, We take a look at the three player battles to watch out for when both sides meet for the first time in IPL 2022.
#1 Mohammed Shami vs Jos Buttler
Mohammed Shami has been on a roll for GT with six wickets from four matches at an average of 29.17 and has proven to be effective at both ends of the game. Facing that pace will be Rajasthan’s in-form batter Jos Buttler, who followed up his ton against Mumbai with a half-century against Bangalore. The Englishman is the leading run-scorer for the team in IPL 2022 at the moment with 218 runs from four matches.
#2 Shubman Gill vs Trent Boult
This is a contest that Shubman Gill has so far dominated, with the GT opener being dismissed by Trent Boult just once in nine encounters. However, the Kiwi has picked up seven wickets in the tournament so far and is the side’s second-most economical bowler (7.25) after Yuzvendra Chahal (6.5). Gill has looked fluent so far in the tournament, getting his side off to starts, and he will be keen to get the better of the seamer once again when they meet at the DY Patil stadium.
#3 Hardik Pandya vs Yuzvendra Chahal
The leg-spinner has had the better of GT skipper, Hardik Pandya, just one time in their seven T20 clashes, and having him bowl an over in the powerplay might not be a bad ploy. The flamboyant all-rounder has notched up a fifty in the edition so far, but he does face a stiff challenge with Chahal and Ravichandran Ashwin bowling in tandem. With both tweakers proving to be pretty miserly, Hardik might have to work hard for his runs.
