T20 format is a format of surprises; one good ball, one good over, one great catch, one unimaginable situation can turn the tables any side. Experience plus talent combined makes the format interesting. What if a team on paper looks so weak but on ground looks mightier than whoever thought or the vice-versa? Let’s head to the preview between the table toppers and the penultimate toppers of the Tata IPL 2022.
Overview:
Gujarat Titans: If one had said that this would be the team who would be making this year’s IPL first half look so interesting once the auctions got over, people would have trolled to the level that one would doubt themselves very much. Such has been the show by this new franchise from the city of Ahmedabad (Gujarat) who are proving whom they are and making the impossible “possible”. The story of this team is pretty much simple, troll the trollers. They have the best set of pacers, a culmination of local untested raw domestic plus proven international players and their middle order would be a tellable one. This team has been giving surprises day in and day out and are now sitting comfortably atop the table and are raring to go forward to keep their hands on the coveted trophy for the first time they are into this cash-rich league.
Chennai Super Kings: Leagues of any sport is about domination and proving whom they are. The Kings from the city of Chennai are inevitably one of the dons of the IPL but even dons too face the music when their weakness is being exploited. Such has been the languishing story that the franchise is now looking for a streak of wins to show to the world whom they are. The re-jig of the total franchise, the change in captaincy has not been in great shape until they came back to their forte last match against Royal Challengers Bangalore where the ex-players of RCB diminished the current set of RCB bowlers to such an extent that the whole management had to scratch their heads to find ways to topple them. But the Kings didn’t only show their prowess in batting but also in bowling with the mystery spinner Maheesh Theekshana running through the RCB lineup and helping CSK pocket two points into their kitty.
Probable XI:
Gujarat Titans: Shubman Gill, Matthew Wade / Wriddhiman Saha (WK), Vijay Shankar / Sai Sudarshan, Hardik Pandya (C), David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Abhinav Manohar, Rashid Khan, Mohammad Shami, Lockie Ferguson, Yash Dayal.
Chennai Super Kings: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Robin Uthappa, Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja (C), Dwayne Bravo, MS Dhoni (WK), Chris Jordan, Maheesh Theekshana, Mukesh Choudhary / Rajvardhan Hangargekar.
Pitch / Weather Report:
In the previous game at the MCA Stadium, it was a run-fest and the pitch has been a belter so far to bat on. Despite the team batting first winning the game, the wicket looked like any score could be chased. The captain that wins the toss is likely to bowl first with the dew factor that might come in later.
Venue: MCA Stadium, Pune
Date & Time: April 17th at 7:30 PM IST and local time
Live Streaming: Star Sports Network and Disney+Hotstar
Interesting Facts:
- This will be the first square off between these two franchises and would be exciting with many exciting young talents in both the teams.
- Hardik Pandya is in the 3rd position for the Orange Cap with 228 runs at a S/R of 136.52, while Shivam Dube is at 5th position with 207 runs at a S/R of 176.92.
- Lockie Ferguson is at 8th position for the Purple Cap with 8 scalps to his name at an economy of 7.70 and an average of 19.25 while Dwayne Bravo is at 12th position with 7 scalps to his name at an economy of 8.94 and an average of 22.57.
Dream11 Team:
