Kolkata: The first qualifier match of IPL 2022 will be played between Gujarat Titans (GT) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) here at the iconic Eden Gardens on Tuesday.
Gujarat Titans performed amazingly under the captaincy of Hardik Pandya. The team won 10 out of 14 matches of the league stage and topped the points table with 20 points. The Rajasthan team, which proved to be leggy in the last season, played like a champion this time. His second place in the points table proves this point.
Rajasthan won 9 out of 14 matches. The bowling and batting of both the teams have been excellent so far.
In Qualifier-1, there will be a tough competition not only between two teams, but also between two players. Both spinners are the highest wicket-takers for their respective teams this season and incidentally both are leg-spinners.
While Rashid Khan has taken the highest 18 wickets in IPL 2022 for Gujarat Titans, at the same time, leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal did this work for Rajasthan. Chahal has taken 26 wickets in 14 matches played so far and is leading the race for the Purple Cap.
The best thing about Gujarat is that the team is not dependent on any one player. In every match, some new player comes out as the match winner.
Hardik Pandya, Shubman Gill, Wriddhiman Saha, Rahul Teotia are running in excellent form. At the same time, the biggest concern of Rajasthan Royals is about Jos Buttler. Butler is the highest run-scorer in this season of IPL, but his bat is calm from the last 5 matches.
Wriddhiman Saha tweaked his hamstring in the final league game and didn't return to keep wickets. But the Titans have been given a major boost with the keeper-batter confirming his availability, meaning the Titans will not have the services of one of the best powerplay batters and a gun 'keeper.
Both the teams met once in the league round. In this match, Hardik Pandya gave the team victory by performing brilliantly.
Royals have never finished in the top-two since the playoffs came into existence in 2011. Titans, meanwhile, were dismissed after the auction, and have exceeded expectations and pre-tournament billing to get here.
Both sides have punted on their six-batters and five-bowler strategy to the hilt. Their unshakable faith in this core philosophy that has brought them much success. That said, not everything is similar. Their approaches have varied. Titans have hit 69 sixes, the least for a team this season. Royals have hit 116, the most.
Gujarat Titans: Hardik Pandya (Captain), Rashid Khan, Shubman Gill, Vijay Shankar, David Miller, Wriddhiman Saha, Matthew Wade, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Lockie Ferguson, Abhinav Sadrangani, Mohammed Shami, Rahul Tewatia, Noor Ahmed , R Sai Kishore, Dominic Drakes, Jayant Yadav, Darshan Nalkande, Yash Dayal, B Sai Sudarshan, Gurkeerat Singh, Alzarri Joseph, Varun Aaron, Pradeep Sangwan.
Rajasthan Royals: Sanju Samson (C&W), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, Devdutt Padikkal, Shimron Hetmyer, Riyan Parag, James Neesham, Ravichandran Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Trent Boult, Pranandesh Krishna, Navdeep Saini, KC Cariappa, Nathan Coulter-Nile , Karun Nair, Rasi van der Dusen, Daryl Mitchell, Obed McCoy, Tejas Baroka, Kuldeep Yadav, Anunay Singh, Kuldeep Sen, Dhruv Jurel and Shubham Garhwal. (UNI)