One is an IPL newbie. The other is a four-time champion. One has already qualified for the playoffs. The other has been eliminated from the race to the last four. On form, the IPL 2022 match between Gujarat Titans and Chennai Super Kings at the Wankhede Stadium on Sunday looks like a mismatch.
But Titans will feel this game represents an excellent chance to test their bench strength. For CSK, it’s about which Super Kings team will turn up? The Delhi Capitals-dominating one, or the one that lost by five wickets to Mumbai Indians in the next match?
Phenomenal
Titans have been phenomenal in the PowerPlay. They’ve picked up 24 wickets (first place) at an economy rate (ER) of 7.45 (second best). Mohammed Shami’s 10 wickets inside the first six at an ER of 6.12 will keep the CSK top-order on its toes.
Rashid Khan vs Devon Conway could be an important duel. Conway has the best strike-rate vs spin (196.5) in IPL-15 among all batters, with a minimum of 100-plus runs against spin bowling. Rashid has 15 wickets at an ER of 6.79 so far. However, in the two matches at the Wankhede this year, Rashid has just one wicket while going at nine runs per over (rpo).
Rashid and R. Sai Kishore had combined figures of six for 31 in Titans’ win vs Lucknow Super Giants last match. Between overs 7 and 16, CSK scores at 8.58rpo (third best), so the Titans spin duo will have its job cut out.
In Ruturaj Gaikwad and Conway, CSK has a robust opening pair. In the bowling department, Mukesh Choudhary has been a revelation with the new ball. His match-up with Gujarat’s top-order will set the tone.
The Teams (From):
Gujarat Titans: Hardik Pandya (c), Abhinav Manohar, David Miller, Gurkeerat Singh, B Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill, Rahul Tewatia, Vijay Shankar, Matthew Wade, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Wriddhiman Saha, Alzarri Joseph, Darshan Nalkande, Lockie Ferguson, Mohammed Shami, Noor Ahmad, Pradeep Sangwan, Rashid Khan, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Varun Aaron, Yash Dayal.
Chennai Super Kings: MS Dhoni (c), Moeen Ali, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Dwayne Bravo, Ambati Rayadu, Robin Uthappa, Mitchell Santner, Chris Jordan, Adam Milne, Devon Conway, Shivam Dube, Dwaine Pretorius, Maheesh Theekshana, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Tushar Deshpande, KM Asif, C Hari Nishaanth, N Jagadeesan, Subhranshu Senapati, K Bhagath Verma, Prashant Solanki, Simarjeet Singh, Mukesh Choudhary.
Match Starts at 3.30 PM.
