RCB look to continue dominant run against Gujarat Titans

Gujarat Titans will face a confident Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Ahmedabad as both teams enter a crucial phase of the IPL season. While RCB are riding strong momentum, GT will look to improve consistency and strengthen their playoff hopes with a home victory

Ahmedabad: Searching for some much-needed consistency, Gujarat Titans face a stern test against a red-hot Royal Challengers Bengaluru in their Indian Premier League match here on Thursday.

At the halfway stage of the tournament, Gujarat Titans find themselves stuck in mid-table with four wins and as many losses from eight games.

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In contrast, defending champions RCB have been in imperious form, registering six victories in eight matches.

RCB’s new-ball duo of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Josh Hazlewood has wreaked havoc in tandem. While Bhuvneshwar has turned back the clock with his swing masterclass, Hazlewood has troubled batters with Test-match lengths targeting the outside edge.

Adding to that is the challenge of facing Krunal Pandya and his barrage of variations in the middle overs.

GT have been labelled top-heavy, with Sai Sudharsan, captain Shubman Gill and Jos Buttler again scoring the bulk of the runs. Washington Sundar has proved himself in the middle order, while finishers like Shahrukh Khan and Rahul Tewatia are yet to make a major impact.

Jason Holder has been accommodated in the middle order to lend more potency.

Both sides met only a week ago at the Chinnaswamy, with RCB comfortably chasing down 206 with seven balls to spare. GT have also not been able to dominate at home, having lost two of their three games in Motera.

RCB are favourites to win the game, but there is always room for improvement. Jacob Bethell, who played the last two games due to an injury to fellow Englishman Phil Salt, was unable to make an impact.

The highly rated youngster would be itching to make a statement on Thursday night while batting alongside Virat Kohli.

Bethell displayed his special talent during the preceding T20 World Cup, and it is only a matter of time before he unleashes his wide range of strokes on the opposition.

RCB completely outplayed Delhi Capitals in their previous game, and that will only add to their confidence.

“It’s very important to follow your routines because you know it’s still a long way to go, but I think we are just taking one game at a time. And the positive is, as I mentioned in the last game also, that different players are coming up and doing it for the team. I think that’s a good sign for us,” said RCB captain Rajat Patidar after the big win in Delhi.

Squads:

Gujarat Titans: Shubman Gill (c), Jos Buttler, Kumar Kushagra, Glenn Phillips, Rashid Khan, Manav Suthar, Nishant Sindhu, Washington Sundar, Gurnoor Brar, Arshad Khan, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Kagiso Rabada, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Jayant Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Ashok Sharma, Jason Holder, Tom Banton, Luke Wood, Sai Sudharsan, M Shahrukh Khan, Anuj Rawat, Kulwant Khejroliya, Rahul Tewatia.

RCB: Rajat Patidar (c), Tim David, Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Philip Salt, Jitesh Sharma, Jacob Bethell, Krunal Pandya, Romario Shepherd, Abhinandan Singh, Josh Hazlewood, Rasikh Salam Dar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Suyash Sharma, Swapnil Singh, Nuwan Thushara, Venkatesh Iyer, Jacob Duffy, Mangesh Yadav, Jordan Cox, Vicky Ostwal, Vihaan Malhotra, Kanishk Chouhan, Satvik Deswal.

Match starts at 7.30 PM IST.