The fourth match of the 15th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will be played between the two new teams of this season, Gujarat Titans (GT) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). This is the maiden season for both of the franchises and they would be hoping to make a big impact with their performances in their very first season. Both the teams have managed to put up decent squads, with highly impactful captains. KL Rahul will be leading LSG while Hardik Pandya will lead GT.
Apart from KL Rahul, Quinton de Kock, Even Lewis, and Manish Pandey are some of the other stalwarts in terms of the batting department of LSG. Ravi Bishnoi, Krunal Pandya, and Krishnappa Gowtham will handle their spin-bowling department. Dushmantha, Avesh, and Andrew Tye will form the fast bowling attack. However, only 2 overseas (Dushmantha Chameera and Evin Lewis) are available for the first game and the team will have to bank on their Indian player to form the XI.
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With Hardik Pandya leading the squad, Gujarat Titans will be hoping to bring the same energy into the squad. Shubman Gill, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, and David Miller are some prolific batters in their squad. Apart from Hardik, Vijay Shankar, Rahul Tewatia, and Rashid Khan will be among the all-rounders. Lockie Ferguson, Varun Aaron, and Mohammad Shami will form the bowling attack. Overall, they look quite a complete side, and will only miss Alzarri Joseph in their initial matches.
#1 KL Rahul vs Rashid Khan
Rashid Khan has dismissed KL Rahul three times in the IPL history and the Afghan spinner will look to his addition to his impressive record against the Lucknow skipper. Meanwhile, Rahul is heading into the IPL season on the back of two consecutive 600-plus-run seasons. Rashid had rather a sub-par outing in the last season as he scalped 18 wickets in IPL 2021, a number he will look to do better with his new franchise.
#2 Shubman Gill vs Avesh Khan
Shubman Gill was one of the drafts picks alongside Rashid Khan and Hardik Pandya ahead of IPL 2022 and the opener will face-off against an impressive Avesh Khan, who had a stellar IPL 2021 campaign. He had scalped 24 wickets in IPL 2021, but Delhi Capitals (DC) released him. The seamer will be keen to prove a point and only time will tell if he can have a similar run. Gill was productive in the IPL last season, amassing 478 runs, and much of the side’s opening hinges on the Punjab batter’s ability to bat deep.
#3 Hardik Pandya vs Ravi Bishnoi
Hardik Pandya as the skipper had more questions than answers ahead of IPL 2022 and that would mean he will be looking to prove his worth. He came into his own in Mumbai Indians’ famed batting Mumbai unit and now he will be leading an IPL franchise. His injury-riddled last few years have seen him play more as a batter than an all-rounder. Whether the story of the season will be the same is unknown, but his ability to change games as a lower-order batter makes him a dangerous customer.
