New Delhi: The Gujarat Titans will look to maintain his momentum against the Delhi Capitals as they meet in the national capitals.
The atmosphere was electric at the Narendra Modi Stadium as the Gujarat Titans began their title defence with a terrific win against the Delhi Capitals.
The DC, who will be playing their first home match of the season, will be eager to prove a point having lost their opening match against Lucknow SuperGiants.
For GT, it is a matter of maintaining the momentum having begun things on a positive note.
The bowling department provided timely breakthroughs, with three bowlers scalping two wickets each. Joshua Little cleaned up Ambati Rayudu to become the first Irish cricketer to pick up a wicket in the IPL.
GT got a brilliant start at the top from Wriddhiman Saha and Shubman Gill, followed by brilliant finishing touches from Rashid Khan and Rahul Tewatia.
B Sai Sudharsan, GT's first-ever impact player, and Vijay Shankar, chipped in with crucial contributions as well.
The performance rightfully encapsulated GT's spirit that was on display throughout the last season, where multiple players stepped up with match-winning contributions at different stages of the match.
DC lost their opening match to the LSG, but the team is packed with plenty of match-winners. Skipper David Warner scored a half-century and Rilee Rossouw chipped in with a good cameo.
They also have a strong Indian core in the bowling department, which includes regulars at the international level like Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav.
This is Rashid Khan’s territory GT are entering, and here, only reigns supreme. He wins you matches with the ball and if needed, he does the same with the bat as well.
The Afghan superstar produced a sensational all-round performance, first picking up two big wickets in the first innings, followed by an impactful cameo at the fag end of the match.
Rashid has a great track record against left-handed batsmen in IPL, picking up 43 wickets at an economy of 6.43.
Having taken down two crucial lefties against Chennai (Moeen Ali and Ben Stokes), Rashid has to deal with his former teammate Warner, Rossouw and Axar in this match, who have a good track record against spin.
Saha needs 48 runs to complete 2,500 runs in IPL and Gill is 37 short of 2,000 runs in TATA IPL.
The GT batted second in 10 matches in the IPL so far, and have won nine of them. (UNI)