A high-flying Gujarat Titans (GT) team will play a faltering Rajasthan Royals (RR) team in the 47th match of the season at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium on 28th April.
Match Preview:
The Titans, one of the standout teams this season, arrive in Jaipur focused on locking down a top-two finish. With consistent performances and strong momentum, they look well on track for a deep playoff run.
The Royals, on the other hand, are fighting to keep their season alive. Sitting near the bottom of the table, their campaign has been derailed by poor results and three straight away losses. Adding to their troubles, they’re still hunting for their first home win of the season.
Several issues have plagued RR: their spinners have struggled to make an impact, key batsmen have been out of form, and captain Sanju Samson’s patchy availability hasn’t helped. Even though they boast a blistering powerplay scoring rate of 10.38 runs per over, they haven’t been able to build on those strong starts.
Yashasvi Jaiswal has been a rare bright spot, smashing a league-high 15 sixes during the powerplay, but his heroics have often gone in vain. The middle order — Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, and Shimron Hetmyer — has been inconsistent, leading to repeated batting collapses. As a result, the pressure has fallen heavily on Jaiswal with the bat and Jofra Archer with the ball.
Meanwhile, the Titans are riding high on confidence and form. They’ll be eager to extend their unbeaten run at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium and tighten their grip on a top playoff spot.
GT’s success has been built around a rock-solid top order. Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill, and former Royals star Jos Buttler have provided stability up front, facing more than 80 balls combined in seven of their eight games. Their combined top-three average of 53.9 is the best in the league. The opening duo of Gill and Sudharsan has been particularly dominant, putting up 448 runs together — the highest of any pair this season — which has taken the pressure off their middle order.
One key battle to watch tonight will be between RR’s Jofra Archer and GT skipper Shubman Gill. Archer has had Gill’s number in previous IPL meetings, dismissing him three times in just 15 balls. Meanwhile, GT will bank on strike bowler Mohammed Siraj, who has the league’s highest dot-ball percentage, to slow down RR’s power-hitting in the early overs.
Probable Playing XI:
Rajasthan Royals (probable): 1 Vaibhav Suryavanshi, 2 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 3 Nitish Rana, 4 Riyan Parag (capt), 5 Dhruv Jurel, 6 Shimron Hetmyer, 7 Shubham Dubey, 8 Wanindu Hasaranga, 9 Sandeep Sharma, 10 Jofra Archer, 11 Fazalhaq Farooqi, 12 Akash Madhwal
Gujarat Titans (probable): 1 B Sai Sudharsan, 2 Shubman Gill (capt), 3 Jos Buttler, 4 Sherfane Rutherford, 5 M Shahrukh Khan, 6 Rahul Tewatia, 7 Rashid Khan, 8 Washington Sundar, 9 R Sai Kishore, 10 Mohammed Siraj, 11 Prasidh Krishna, 12 Ishant Sharma
Pitch and weather report:
Since last year, the chasing team has won four of the seven games played in Jaipur, with an average first innings score of 184. Even though the evenings will be slightly cooler, the players’ fitness will suffer due to the unbearable heat. Daytime highs have surpassed 40 degrees Celsius.
Head-to-head record:
Only seven matches have been played etween these sides. Gujarat Titans have dominated so far, winning six out of those seven encounters. Rajasthan have managed to win just once, and they’ll be hungry to shift that stat in their favor.
Prediction:
Given how Titans are performing, they are favourite to win the upcoming clash of the tournament.
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
