IPL 2023 MATCH PREVIEW: GT vs SRH

Despite being touted as the strongest side on paper, the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) are on the verge of receiving the wooden spoon. The team boasted an explosive batting lineup and a formidable bowling attack that covered all bases, leaving talented players like Akeal Hossein, Kartik Tyagi and Glenn Philips on the bench due to the abundance of options. However, the much-hyped Harry Brook failed to live up to expectations, has managed just 63 runs apart from that 100 at Eden and Abhishek Sharma missing games didn’t help either. Adding to their woes, Mayank Agarwal has been a consistent disappointment, averaging a paltry 18 after playing over 90 innings, if we exclude the 2021 and 2022 seasons. The team's struggles suggest that paper strengths alone are not enough to guarantee success in the fiercely competitive world of IPL.
They have been tactically poor as well. For eg, against Lucknow by promoting Sundar ahead of Klassen and not naming Akeal Hossein in the subs. It was a tailor made pitch for the one of the best finger spinners in the world.
Just as Sundar seemed to regain his form, he unfortunately suffered a hamstring injury and had to withdraw from the tournament. Additionally, it seemed that Phillips, who was among the top batters in the T20 World Cup and has an impressive T20I strike rate of 144, was too valuable to be left on the bench. He made an immediate impact ny winning them a game against RR out of nowhere. Consequently, replacing the struggling Brooks with Phillips would have been an ideal decision, given that the latter excels in playing spin.

Except for one glitch when Rinku Singh went on a rampage and smashed 40 runs in 7 consecutive deliveries, Gujarat Titans have been flawless this season, just like the previous one. Saha has been taking full advantage of the powerplay overs, they gave Sudharshan a run at 3 and scored consecutive half-centuries, and a typical Tewatia finish helped them secure another 2 points. Vijay Shankar after a horrific last season has played 4 outstanding knocks. It seems like everything they touch turns to gold. In addition, they made a shrewd move by bringing back Mohit Sharma, their top performer with the ball in the last game, who was last seen in 2020. GT already have their one foot in the playoffs and today's win will ensure a top 2 finish.

Probable XI:

Gujarat Titans

Wriddhiman Saha(w), Shubman Gill, Vijay Shankar, Hardik Pandya(c), David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Abhinav Manohar, Mohit Sharma, Rashid Khan, Mohammed Shami, Noor Ahmad

Sunrisers Hyderabad

Abhishek Sharma, Anmolpreet Singh, Rahul Tripathi, Aiden Markram(c), Heinrich Klaasen(w), Glenn Phillips, Abdul Samad, T Natarajan, Mayank Markande, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Fazalhaq Farooqi

Venue

Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad

-Average Total batting 1st: 163.9
-Average 1st innings winning total: 171.1
-Highest total: 227/2 - GT v LSG
-Lowest total: 102/10 - RR v SRH
-Total Match Played: 24
-Batting First Won: 11
-Batting Second Won: 13

Head to Head

1-1

Most Runs

Abhishek Sharma - 107
Wriddhiman Saha - 68

Most Wickets

Umran Malik - 6
Mohammad Shami - 3

Points Table

GT: 1st
SRH: 9th

Team Form (last 5 games)

GT: L W L W L

SRH: W L W W L

Match Ups ( IPL )

Miller v Bhuvi: 45 off 27, 1 out
Abhishek v Rashid: 47 off 23, 1 out
Saha v Bhuvi: 41 off 30
Tewatia v Natarajan: 40 off 22
Gill v Bhuvi: 35 off 42, 2 out
Tripathi v Shami; 34 off 29, 3 out
Tripathi v Natarajan: 14 off 7, 2 out

Key Players & Fantasy Picks

Rashid Khan:

He should be your automatic rather a blind pick in your fantasy 11. He is arguably the greatest t20 bowler with more than 500 wickets. He is one of the three bowlers to pick 15 + wkts in a season for 7 consecutive times. In addition to that, he knows how to use the long handle down the order and displayed his prowess with the bat against MI with a knock of 79*

Shubhman Gill:

He is GT's highest scorer with 475 runs at a SR of 141. Moreover, Motera is his happy hunting ground with a test and a t20i 100 already. He averages 75.14 in 10 innings at a SR of strike-rate of 152.46

Heinrich Klassen:

There are no two ways about it; he has been SRH’s best batter this season with 262 runs from 8 innings at a SR in excess of 180. He plays spin exceptionally well and is SRH’s best bet to counter Rashid Khan

Hardik Pandya:

Pandya has been struggling with the bat and his last 25 - 30 t20 innings paint a poor picture. His SR is around 125 and hasn’t played a “good” innings apart from that knock against Lucknow where he smashed 66 in a low scoring game.But given his bowling and ability to pick the odd wkts in the powerplay its difficult to rule him out of the game. He had a memorable season last year where he scored 487 runs and was the MoM in the final.

Glenn Philips:

He had an amazing outing in the t20 wc and was NZ's best batter. He is one of the cleanest strikers of the ball and the man "who can do it all" from fielding, keeping and bowling off spin. He won the MoM for his 25 runs against RR in his 2nd last appearance.

Fantasy XI