It's Titans vs Supergiants in the battle of IPL newcomers

On a bustling Monday night, Wankhede will be playing host to two IPL debutants as the Gujarat Titans start their campaign with a sternum-churning contest against the Lucknow Super Giants. Despite just being in the initial chapter of a glorious posterity to follow, both the teams will have a lot on the line, especially a string of personal rivalries and pride.

All eyes will be set on a returning Hardik Pandya who will be leading the lines for the Titans backed by a couple of strong Indian names in Shubman Gill and Mohammed Shami. Lucknow, on the contrary will be led by KL Rahul, one of the most successful batters in the glittering antiquity of the tournament.

Barring the Indian stalwarts, there are quite a few impressive overseas names in the hut that would star the likes of Dusmantha Chameera, Rashid Khan, Lockie Ferguson and Noor Ahmad who can be absolute show-stoppers on their given days. This is a contest that will pit youth against experience and some maddening T20 craftsmen in the making against the traditional big guns of the sport.

Venue Watch:

Wankhede has always been a batter’s paradise and needless to say, the team batting second will have an added advantage given the wear and tear that the surface goes through. Even though spinners can turn things around, the batters can still go around with their craft without much ado given the dew factor coming into play coupled with shorter boundaries and a lightning-fast outfield. A total of 84 T20 matches have been played at Wankhede out of which the team batting first has secured 40 victories while the team chasing has come out on top in 44 occasions. The average first innings score at the stadium is a staggering 167 that promises another run-fest to welcome the two debutants.

Squads:

Gujarat Titans:

Hardik Pandya, Rashid Khan, Shubman Gill, Mohammed Shami, Jason Roy, Lockie Ferguson, Abhinav Sadarangani, Rahul Tewatia, Noor Ahmed, Sai Kishore, Vijay Shankar, Jayant Yadav, Dominic Drakes, Darshan Nalkande, Yash Dayal, Alzarri Joseph, Pradeep Sangwan, David Miller, Wriddhiman Saha, Matthew Wade, Varun Aaron, B Sai Sudharshan

Lucknow Super Giants:

KL Rahul, Quinton de Kock, Manish Pandey, Deepak Hooda, Marcus Stoinis, Krunal Pandya, Jason Holder, K Gowtham, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan,Andrew Tye, Dushmantha Chameera, Ankit Rajpoot, Shahbaz Nadeem, Manan Vohra, Mohsin Khan, Ayush Badoni, Karan Sharma, Mayank Yadav, Kyle Mayers, K Gowtham, Evin Lewis.

Match details:

Gujarat Titans vs Lucknow Super Giants

Venue: Wankhede Stadium

Date: 28th March 2022

Time: 7:30 PM IST