IPL 2023 Predictions: GT vs RR

The Rajasthan Royals will be looking to continue with their winning run as they visit Ahmedabad on Sunday to take on hosts, the Gujarat Titans, in match number 23 of the ongoing season of the IPL.

The Royals have won three out of four games and are currently in first place in the points table.

They are coming into this game after winning their previous game against Chennai Super Kings.

The Royals lost the toss and were asked to bat. They reached a healthy total of 175 runs for the loss of eight wickets in 20 overs.

Jos Buttler continued his great form and scored another half-century this season. Hetmyer provided the finishing touch with his inning of 30 runs off 18 deliveries.

CSK lost a couple of wickets in the middle overs, which disturbed their chase. They managed 172 runs for the loss of six wickets and lost the game by three runs.

The Titans have also won three out of four games and are in third in the points tally.

They defeated the Punjab Kings in their previous encounter. The Kings scored 153 runs for the loss of eight wickets in 20 overs, with none of the batters making more than 40 runs.

Mohit Sharma picked up two wickets for 18 runs in four overs.

Wriddhiman Saha and Shubman Gill provided another solid start to the team as the Titans scored 56 runs in the powerplay.

Ultimately, the Titans required seven runs off the last six deliveries. Tewatia hit a four on the penultimate delivery to help the team cross the line.

Both teams have faced each other thrice so far, with the Gujarat Titans winning all 3 of those encounters.

The Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad has been known to provide a balanced contest between batsmen and bowlers in recent IPL matches.

The pitch has favored both, but fast bowlers have been more successful, especially in the last game.

With the weather conditions also favoring seamers, expect the fast bowlers to play a crucial role in the upcoming matches.

Spinners are likely to come into play during the middle overs, providing additional support to the bowling attack.

Shubhman Gill has been in good form for the Titans this season, scoring 2 half-centuries in 4 outings and is the top run-getter for the team.

He has received good support from the likes of Sai Sudharsan and Vijay Shankar.

However, more will be expected from Wriddhiman Saha, who has got a couple of good starts but squandered them away.

Similarly, Hardik Pandya seems to be struggling with the bat.

David Miller and Rahul Tewatia will be playing the role of finishers, while Rashid Khan is capable of playing some big shots too.

Talking about the bowling, Mohit Sharma, who played his first match of the season in the previous game, bowled a brilliant spell, taking 2 wickets for just 18 runs.

For RR, Buttler has been one of the top performers this season.

He has made 204 runs in four games at an average of 51 and a strike rate of 170. He has scored three half-centuries so far.

Key player stats

• Shubman Gill: Match – 04 Runs -183
• Sai Sudharsan: Match – 04 Runs -156
• Rashid Khan: Match – 04 Runs -10 and Wickets – 09
• Jos Buttler: Match -04 Runs -204
• Ravichandran Ashwin: Match -04 Runs -31 and Wickets -06
• Yuzvendra Chahal: Match -04 Runs -DNB and Wickets -10
• Yashasvi Jaiswal: Match -04 Runs -135

Who will win

It’s a hard match to predict as both the teams are top-class IPL squads.

GT will enjoy the home advantage but RR has seasoned campaigners like Buttler, Samson and Ashwin who will not be overawed.

GT’s batting has not been tested so far, part from Shubman Gill and might be susceptible to a collapse.

Analysing the teams, we find that the RR batting line-up is slightly superior. Hence we feel RR will come out as winners.

POINTS TABLE – TATA IPL