The action of the Indian Premier League moves to Jaipur, where the Rajasthan Royals will be hosting the Gujarat Titans in match number 47 of this season at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium. It’s been a tale of two opposite ends for the two teams, as the Gujarat Titans, on one hand, are sitting pretty in the Top 4, with 6 wins in 8 games, whereas the Royals are second-last on the points table and have just 2 wins from 9 games. For the Gujarat Titans, everything has been going their way, with a majority of their players in good form, and they seem to have all their bases covered for now. In their batting department, their top 3 is arguably one of the best of the tournament, and boy, haven’t they lived up to the expectations, as each of the top 3 batters has amassed 300-plus runs this season till now. Shubman Gill, their captain, played a match-winning knock in the previous game, whereas Jos Buttler played a match-winning knock in the game before that. Sai Sudharsan, too, has consistently made significant contributions. The fact that their lower-order hasn’t gotten much game time is true, but in the games that any of their lower-order batters have gotten the chance to bat, they have done well. So they have nothing to worry about in that aspect too. In their bowling department, Prasidh Krishna is enjoying his best season by some distance, as he is their leading wicket-taker, with 16 wickets to his name. The likes of Sai Kishore and Mohammed Siraj, too, have done well, as they have 12 wickets each this season. Rashid Khan was struggling at the start of the season, but he has now got a bit of his rhythm back, as he bowled a very economical spell in the last game and picked up 2 wickets. On the other hand, Rajasthan Royals, with just two wins under their belt, have themselves to blame, as they lost the last 3 games after being in a dominant position in each of the games. In the game against DC and LSG, they couldn’t chase down 9 off the last 6 balls, with 7 and 6 wickets in hand. Even in their last game, they needed just 18 off the last 2 overs, with 5 wickets in hand, and they again failed to chase it down. In their batting department, the only shining light for them has been the form of Yashasvi Jaiswal, who now has 3 fifties and one 49-run score in the last 4 games. He has consistently provided RR with good starts at the top. Sanju Samson is still nursing his muscle tear, and it’s unknown when he will be fit again to lead the team. In his absence, the 14-year-old, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, made his IPL debut, becoming the youngest player to play in the IPL, and he impressed one and all with his cameo in his debut game against LSG. Their middle and lower-order batters have been inconsistent and are short on confidence too, as they have failed to close out the last three games. In the bowling department, one man has stood out from the rest, and that is Jofra Archer. After a poor first outing in the season, he started hitting the straps, as he has bowled some fiery spells upfront for the Royals. Wanindu Hasaranga has bowled fairly well but has been a touch inconsistent at times. The rest of their bowlers are having a hard time this season, and the Royals might be thinking of making some changes in the bowling department for this upcoming game. So, coming to this fixture, it promises to be a good game of cricket in terms of balance between bat and ball, as this is one of the few venues with long boundary dimensions, which allows the bowlers to be in the game. Gujarat Titans would look to continue their winning momentum as they inch closer to locking in on the top 4 spot. On the other hand, the Royals, who are already struggling to stay in the qualification race, would look to get a win under their belt, as a loss here would all but get them out of the top 4 race. So will the Titans capture Jaipur, or can the Royals get their first win in Jaipur this season? We shall find out.
