Gujarat Titans and Delhi Capitals will face each other in the 35th game of the tournament on 18th April at Narendra Modi Stadium
Match Preview:
Gujarat Titans are the perfect reminder that early judgments can be way off. Heading into their debut IPL season in 2022, barely anyone had them pegged as serious contenders. They responded by winning the title. A year later, they came within one ball of pulling off a successful title defense.
2024 was a forgettable season, but in 2025, the story is starting to feel familiar. Before the tournament began, GT’s top order—Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan, and Jos Buttler—looked too similar in approach, more like accumulators than aggressors. Their middle order looked thin, too. Expectations were low again. And once again, GT are proving people wrong.
Their top three have been key. Gill, Sudharsan, and Buttler are not just holding the innings together—they’re doing it faster than before, having all bumped up their strike rates from last season. This improvement has helped protect GT’s vulnerable middle order.
But as usual, it’s their bowling that gives them the edge. Mohammed Siraj is leading the way in the powerplay, Prasidh Krishna is owning the middle overs, and R Sai Kishore has stepped up big time, especially with Rashid Khan not quite at his best this season.
Next up, GT face a stiff challenge: the in-form Delhi Capitals. DC have beaten them both times they’ve played in Ahmedabad once on a red-soil pitch and once on a black-soil surface. Unlike most teams, GT seem to have some say in what kind of pitch gets prepared. With both teams boasting strong pace and spin options, the pitch could be a key factor.
Delhi Capitals are currently sitting on top of the points table with five wins from six games. A win on Saturday would help them stay there or climb back to the top if they drop after Friday night’s match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Punjab Kings. For GT, a win would put them in pole position too, or very close to it.
Probable Playing XIIS:
Gujarat Titans (probable): 1 Shubman Gill (capt), 2 B Sai Sudharsan, 3 Jos Buttler (wk), 4 Sherfane Rutherford, 5 Shahrukh Khan, 6 Washington Sundar, 7 Rahul Tewatia, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Arshad Khan, 10 R Sai Kishore, 11 Mohammed Siraj, 12 Prasidh Krishna
Delhi Capitals (probable): 1 Faf du Plessis/Jake Fraser-McGurk, 2 Abishek Porel, 3 Karun Nair, 4 KL Rahul (wk), 5 Tristan Stubbs, 6 Axar Patel (capt), 7 Ashutosh Sharma, 8 Vipraj Nigam, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Kuldeep Yadav, 11 Mohit Sharma, 12 Mukesh Kumar
Pitch and weather report:
The red-soil field has good bounce and speed. The black-soil one aids spinners and is slow. What GT decides must be seen. The game is scheduled during the day, and “excessive heat” is predicted, with temperatures hovering around 38°C during play.
Head-to-head record:
The Delhi Capitals team has a slim lead with three wins to the Titans’ two in the five IPL games that have been played between these two teams.
Prediction:
Given how Delhi has performed in their last game and won a game in the super over, it will surely give them edge to win the upcoming game against Titans.
Where to Watch:
India: Star Sports Network, JioHotstar
Australia: Kayo TV, FoxTel Go
Bangladesh: T Sports, Toffee app
New Zealand: Sky Sports NZ
South Africa: SuperSport
Sri Lanka: Dialog
UK: Sky Sports, SkyGo
USA: Willow TV
Afghanistan: ATN
MENA: Cricbuzz
