Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Sunday won the toss and opted to bowl first against Gujarat Titans in match no 45 of the Indian Premier League 2024 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. (Preview | Full Coverage)
RCB captain Faf du Plessis said the reason behind his decision of inviting GT to bat was that the wicket will get better in the second innings. He also said that Glenn Maxwell was returning to the playing XI after a short break.
GT skipper Shubman Gill said that he was also looking to chase.
GT Vs RCB Playing XIs
Gujarat Titans: Wriddhiman Saha(w), Shubman Gill(c), Sai Sudharsan, David Miller, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rahul Tewatia, Shahrukh Khan, Rashid Khan, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Noor Ahmad, Mohit Sharma
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis(c), Will Jacks, Rajat Patidar, Glenn Maxwell, Cameron Green, Dinesh Karthik(w), Swapnil Singh, Karn Sharma, Mohammed Siraj, Yash Dayal
The Titans are now seventh on the table with eight points from nine matches, and they require a victory to float above.
To begin with, the Gujarat side needs their pacers to step up. Their pace bowling unit has been underwhelming throughout this IPL.
Mohit Sharma (10 wickets, economy: 10.35), Umesh Yadav (7 wickets, 10.55), Sandeep Warrier (5 wickets, 10.85) have leaked runs in plenty while backup quicks such as Spencer Johnson and Azmatullah Omarzai too have not inspired much confidence.
On the other hand, RCB have found a flicker of hope in their middle-order consisting of Rajat Patidar, Will Jacks and Cameron Green.
They can take consolation from the fact that dew will not be a significant factor in a day game, but tackling Patidar, in particular, and Green need much more than help from conditions.
After a modest beginning to the season, Patidar has shown smidgeons of his batting skills, especially against the spinners.
It has also helped RCB reduce their dependency on Dinesh Karthik and Mahipal Lomror down the order for a late thrust, besides freeing opener Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis of the burden of scoring in almost every match.
The GT batters would also like to take a cue from their RCB counterparts.
Sai Sudharsan and skipper Shubman Gill have scored upwards of 300 runs in this IPL, making three combined fifties, but the GT middle-order has not really been able to do a follow-up act.
With PTI Inputs
