Mumbai: IPL debutants Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Supergiants will be keen to put their own stamp on the competition when they lock horns here on Monday.
Lucknow are a force to reckon with, but with some crucial absences due to international duty, it will be hard to describe them close to full strength heading into the match. They do not have any apparent weaknesses though.
Captain KL Rahul and Quinton are one of the best opening pairs in the tournament, while allrounders Deepak Hooda and Krunal Pandya would like to put up a good show at five and six respectively.
Other allrounders Karan Sharma and Krishnappa Gowtham might replace Jason Holder who is on West Indies duty.
Seamers Dushmantha Chameera, Avesh Khan and Ankit Rajpoot might get a look to balance Lucknow's pace attack.
On the flipside, Gurjarat are without the services of Jason Roy who pulled out of the tournament. In his absence, Matthew Wade is likely to keep wickets and open the innings, though they have roped in big-hitting wicketkeeper batsman Rahmanullah Gurbaz.
Because of Jason's absence, Gujarat might employ young Indian batsman Abhinav Manohar to form a well-rounded playing XI.
Bowling allrounder Vijay Shankar also can be used to enhance the team's balance. David Miller and Hardik Pandya, who have the reputation of finishers, would like to take the game away from the opposition whenever they get an opportunity.
Rahul Tewatia will be aiming to prove the critics wrong after Gujarat's decision to spend excessively on him came under question.
Rashid Khan and Lockie Ferguson, who are extraordinary bowlers, would like to be among the wickets as quickly as possible, and if Mohammed Shami hits form, the bowling attack would appear that much deadly.
It will be interesting to see how R Sai Kishore performs. He has done exceedingly well for Tamil Nadu over the years but hasn't found a place in the IPL.
Pandya holds the key as captain for Gujarat as he might experiment with batting higher up in the order in the capacity of a captain. And if he bowls four overs regularly, it will be an added advantage for Gujarat.
Teams:
Gujarat Titans: Abhinav Manohar, David Miller, Gurkeerat Singh, Sai Sudarshan, Shubman Gill, Hardik Pandya (Captain), Rahul Tewatia, Vijay Shankar, Matthew Wade, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Wriddhiman Saha, Alzarri Joseph, Darshan Nalkande, Dominic Drakes, Jayant Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Mohammed Shami, Noor Ahmad, Pradeep Sangwan, Rashid Khan, Ravisrinivasan Sai, Varun Aaron, Yash Dayal.
Lucknow Supergiants: KL Rahul (Captain), Manan Vohra, Evin Lewis, Manish Pandey, Quinton De Kock, Ravi Bishnoi, Dushmantha Chameera, Shahbaz Nadeem, Mohsin Khan, Mayank Yadav, Ankit Rajpoot, Avesh Khan, Andrew Tye, Marcus Stoinis, Kyle Mayers, Karan Sharma, Krishnappa Gowtham, Ayush Badoni, Deepak Hooda, Krunal Pandya. Jason Holder. The Match starts at 7.30 PM. (UNI)
