RCB hopeful of building momentum as Gujarat Titans host them in an afternoon encounter

With the second win in the bag, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru are once again on the road in the pursuit of the third win of the season and they will be up against Gujarat Titans who have had a few questions of their own in the ongoing season.

RCB will be coming fresh from a comprehensive win against the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the latter’s den and will be hopeful of pushing for the third. The Titans, on the contrary, will be arriving to this encounter on the back of a near defeat in a high-octane run-chase against Delhi Capitals.

This is going to be another important clash for both the sides as a victory for the Titans will get them back on a similar number of wins with quite a few sides while for RCB another win will simply get them back on the right track after a slightly shaky start.

Venue Watch

It looks like a pretty good batting surface in Ahmedabad. With the game happening during the afternoon, despite the surging heat, the track won’t have much voodoo for the batters. With the lights coming on, the surface may tend to ease slightly for the bowlers but then again one can expect a run-fest.

Personal battles to watch out for:

Virat Kohli vs Rashid Khan:

Virat has been kind of running away with the Orange Cap in this season as he has managed to amass 430 runs already while his average has been a stunning 61.42. He has struck three fifties and a century that can serve as a reminder to the Titans that they will have to watch out for him. Rashid Khan may have proven to be slightly more expensive that he usually is with an economy rate of 7.44 but those seven wickets next to his name is simply another ode to how menacing he can be.

Rajat Patidar vs Mohit Sharma

Rajat Patidar has been in dream form in the last few games. Even though he has failed to convert the fifties into even bigger knocks, yet those quick bursts of acceleration have proven to be denting enough for the bowlers and he will be on another important mission as the Titans come face to face with the Royal Challengers. Mohit Sharma has conceded a lot in this IPL with an economy rate  of 10.35 but he is also the highest wicket taker for GT with 10 wickets and can be a vital cog in the plans of the Titans.

Karn Sharma vs Shubman Gill

Despite being a part of only three games, Karn Sharma has proven his worth and he will once again be in the grand schemes plotted by the mighty Royal Challengers against the Titans. With an economy rate of 8.60, Sharma has also been a dampener in the flow of runs for the other sides. Shubman Gill still is one of the finest batters in the side of the Titans and with 304 runs, he will be leading the charge for the Titans.

Match detail:

Match: Gujarat Titans vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru

Venue: Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad

Date: 28th April, 2024

Time: 3:30 PM

Head-to-head:

Matches played: 3

RCB: 1

GT: 2

Squads:

Royal Challengers Bengaluru:

Faf du Plessis (c), Glenn Maxwell, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Anuj Rawat, Dinesh Karthik, Suyash Prabhudessai, Will Jacks, Mahipal Lomror, Karn Sharma, Manoj Bhandage, Mayank Dagar, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj, Reece Topley, Himanshu Sharma, Rajan Kumar, Cameron Green, Alzarri Joseph, Yash Dayal, Tom Curran, Lockie Ferguson, Swapnil Singh, Saurav Chauhan.

Gujarat Titans:

David Miller, Shubman Gill (c), Matthew Wade, Wriddhiman Saha, Kane Williamson, Abhinav Manohar, B. Sai Sudharsan, Darshan Nalkande, Vijay Shankar, Jayant Yadav, Rahul Tewatia, Mohammed Shami, Noor Ahmad, Sai Kishore, Rashid Khan, Joshua Little, Mohit Sharma, Azmatullah Omarzai, Umesh Yadav, Shahrukh Khan, Sushant Mishra, Kartik Tyagi, Manav Suthar, Spencer Johnson