Indian T20 League: Match 24- Rajasthan vs Gujarat- Preview

The 24th encounter of the Indian T20 League is going to be played between Rajasthan and Gujarat. The DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai will host the match on the 14th of April. The inaugural season winners and the league's debutant have had a similar start to the tournament. Both teams have played four games and have lost only once. However, Rajasthan has managed to remain at top of the table due to a higher net run rate, whereas Gujarat sits at fourth place.

Team Updates

Rajasthan

Rajasthan has looked a completely different side this season. So far, they have managed to produce goods in all departments, and have ticked all their boxes. They have players among the top run-scorers and also among top wicket-takers. In the bowling department, Yuzvendra Chahal (11 wickets) and Trent Boult (7 wickets) are giving them the breakthroughs they need. Prasidh Krishna also has been decent for them, with four wickets in four matches.

With the bat, Jos Buttler is doing the bulk of the work for the team. However, he has also gotten support from Shimron Hetmyer (168 runs) as he is scoring quick runs in the middle and death overs. Devdutt Padikkal (114 runs) also has shown promise with the bat but he still needs to do a lot better. The men in pink and blue will want to continue the same form and try to win more matches coming their way.

Players to watch out for

Jos Buttler- Jos Buttler has been a very consistent performer in the Indian T20 League, and he has continued his form in the 2022 season as well. In the four matches that Rajasthan has played, Buttler has scored 218 runs, including a half-century and a century. He would want to continue a similar performance in the next game.

Sanju Samson- The team skipper, Sanju Samson, has always been criticized for being inconsistent. This year, too, he scored a half-century in the first match against Hyderabad, but hasn't had major contributions after that. He would look to rectify that and contribute in the next game.

Probable Playing XI

Jos Buttler, Devdutt Padikkal, Sanju Samson (c & wk), Rassie van der Dussen, Shimron Hetmyer, Riyan Parag, Kuldeep Sen, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Prasidh Krishna, Yuzvendra Chahal

Gujarat

Gujarat has looked in great touch, and they were on a winning streak before they lost their last match to Hyderabad. The pressure of captaincy has suited the newly appointed captain Hardik Pandya. He has taken up the responsibility to help his team win matches. He is batting much higher in the order and he is bowling with the new ball as well. If he continues making the right decisions, Gujarat will benefit a lot from it.

An improvement that Gujarat needs to make in the upcoming matches is their middle-order. They have won the matches, but their middle-order batting has not been up to the T20 standards. They have great power-hitting options, and they will have to utilize them wisely.

Players to watch out for

Shubman Gill- Shubman Gill has been one of the most exciting players this season. He is the only player from the team that has looked to attack the bowlers. He has managed to score 187 runs in four matches at a strike-rate close to 160. Gill can be vital in this match, too.

Rahul Tewatia- Rahul Tewatia has played the role of a finisher for Gujarat and he has done the job to perfection. He has played at a strike rate of 187 this season. He also won the match against Lucknow for the team from a difficult position, scoring 40 runs in 24 balls.

Pitch Report

The pitch at DY Patil Stadium will help spinners as the games progresses. Spinners took nine of the 13 wickets in the encounter between Chennai and Bangalore on Tuesday. However, the batters and the fast bowlers will also not mind playing on this surface. The team winning the toss would want to bowl first here.

Match details

Date- 14th April 2022

Time- 7:30 p,m (IST)

Venue- DY Patil Stadium, Mumbai

Broadcast- Star Sports Network, Disney+ Hotstar