Last season’s finalists Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Gujarat Titans (GT) will be facing each other again in the 48th match of the IPL 2023 at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Friday, May 5. Rajasthan suffered a heartbreaking six-wicket loss to Mumbai Indians (MI) in the previous match as they failed to defend an imposing total of 213 runs. With five wins from nine matches, Sanju Samson and his men currently occupy fourth place in the points table.
A win in their upcoming contest will help them break into the top two. Gujarat also faced defeat in their previous match. The Hardik Pandya-led side wasn’t able to chase down Delhi Capitals’ (DC) 131-run target, losing the game by five runs. The defending champions, however, have emerged as the team to beat. They are placed comfortably at the top of the standings, having won six out of their nine matches. GT is the only team with 12 points in their kitty at this juncture.
ALSO READ: Match 48 (RR vs GT) – Playing XI And Fantasy XI Predictions
This will be the second time that these two teams will lock horns this season. GT and RR earlier clashed at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Rajasthan chased down a tricky target of 178 runs in thrilling fashion, eking out a three-wicket win. The upcoming fixture featuring the two star-studded teams also promises to be a high-octane affair.
Here, we look at three match-ups that could have a major impact in the upcoming RR vs GT game:
#3 Yashasvi Jaiswal vs Mohammed Shami
RR opener Yashasvi Jaiswal has been playing with a lot of intent for the team. The southpaw has got his team off to a flying start by taking on the bowlers in the powerplay on multiple occasions. With 428 runs from nine games, Jaiswal is the second-highest run-getter in the competition. However, the youngster will face an imposing challenge this time around, as he will have to negate GT’s pace bowling spearhead, Mohammed Shami, who has picked up 17 wickets in nine matches, 12 out of which have come in the powerplay.
#2 Sanju Samson vs Rashid Khan
RR skipper Sanju Samson started off the tournament on a promising note. He has been counter-attacking the spinner’s bowlers this season. The last time the two teams squared off, Samson took GT’s star leg spinner Rashid Khan and smashed him all-over the park. He completed a hat-trick of sixes against the crafty bowler and ended up scoring 60 runs from just 32 balls. Rashid will be eager to win the battle against Samson this time around by removing him early.
#1 Trent Boult vs Shubman Gill
Left-arm pacer Trent Boult has provided his team with crucial breakthroughs with the new ball in a number of games in this year’s IPL. The Kiwi bowler has scalped 10 wickets to his name from seven matches. Boult has bagged seven scalps in the powerplay overs, and he will be skipper Sanju Samson’s best bet against GT’s opening batter Shubman Gill. Gill has been the top performer with the bat for his team so far, amassing 339 runs from nine games at an average of 37.66. He has crossed the 50-run mark thrice.
