Former Indian batter Mohammad Kaif has said that the Rajasthan Royals (RR) seem to be stepping up at the right time in IPL 2022 while Gujarat Titans’ (GT) fortunes have taken a step back in recent games. Gujarat and Rajasthan will take on each other in Qualifier 1 of IPL 2022 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Tuesday, 24 May.
While previewing the match on Sportskeeda, he opined: “RR are peaking at the right time. They are learning to win matches even without major contributions from Jos Buttler. It’s a big thing for them. GT’s performances have gone down in recent times. They have lost three of their last five games, two of which have been big defeats, by eight wickets. Gujarat have lost some momentum.”
READ HERE: India will struggle if Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma don’t score, says Mohammad Hafeez
Rajasthan will head into Qualifier 1 with consecutive wins over the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in their last two league games. On the other hand, Gujarat suffered an eight-wicket defeat at the hands of the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in their previous match as well. While analyzing Rajasthan’s impressive performances in IPL 2022 so far, Mohammad Kaif has credited the franchise for doing a good job as well at the auction by picking match winners.
He said: “RR did very well at the auction. The same has reflected in their performances, the way they have played. They are very well-balanced in both batting and bowling. Change of players has done the trick for Rajasthan this season. Jos Buttler’s form was excellent in the first half. He played many match-winning knocks. Trent Boult took wickets with the new ball. Prasidh Krishna was also among the wickets. The bowling is a lot more balanced as Ashwin has also made good contributions.”
READ HERE: Gary Kirsten all set to work with Hardik Pandya
“Yuzvendra Chahal has been exceptional. He doesn’t depend on the pitch for success. He is a wonderful leg-spinner, who has made a big difference. He can bowl anywhere, in the powerplay or the middle overs. Sanju Samson has also utilized him very well,” Mohammad Kaif concluded.
