Image Credit- BCCI
For the Gujarat Titans, life after Hardik Pandya hasn’t been all that horrible after all. They have won two of their last three games under the leadership of Shubman Gill, and both of those triumphs have occurred at home. When Punjabi youngster Gill captains Titans against Punjab Kings on Thursday, they will want to make it three wins in a row at home.
Mohit Sharma has frequently been unhittable at the end of the game, but Azmatullah Omarzai has swung the new ball on the powerplay. Against Sunrisers Hyderabad, the team featured a strong Afghan flavour because to the inclusion of Omarzai, Rashid Khan, and Noor Ahmad in the starting lineup. If they choose to change up their spin approach and give the Kings a taste of Spencer Johnson’s fast speed, they also have R Sai Kishore on their squad.
The Kings began the season with a victory over the Delhi Capitals at their brand-new Mullanpur stadium, but they then lost consecutive games away in Bengaluru and Lucknow. Given that several other clubs have already made an impact, they will become even more exposed if they suffer another loss on the road.
Kings had paid INR 11.75 crore for Harshal Patel, and the player has been consistent with his slower deliveries, giving up runs at an average of 11.41 per over. Their spin attack, which also features Harpreet Brar, lacks the experience and pedigree of the Titans’ spin attack, and Rahul Chahar has also leaked runs.
When MS Dhoni was playing for the Chennai Super Kings, Mohit Sharma was his go-to seamer. Later, when Dhoni was playing for the Punjab franchise, Sharma even stopped him. After that, he wandered off into the wilderness, but he has returned to the IPL scene as the Titans’ star seamer while Mohammed Shami is sidelined due to injury. He will have the support of captain Gill and coach Ashish Nehra to bowl the challenging overs once more and contain the Kings’ potent batters.
With just nine wickets at an economy rate of almost nine in ten matches, Kagiso Rabada had a poor run in the SA20. Rabada was favoured by Kings at different times throughout the last IPL season, and despite the South African fast bowler’s strong performance at the Chinnaswamy Stadium this year, he hasn’t yet performed to his full potential.