Rajasthan Royals will aim to continue their spotless campaign against Gujarat Titans in Match 24 of the Indian Premier League at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur today, Wednesday.
Royals have made a terrific start to the season, recording four successive wins from as many games. Following Kolkata Knight Riders' loss to Chennai Super Kings on Monday, RR are the only unbeaten team in the 10-team competition.
Titans, on the other hand, need to find inspiration to ignite their blemished campaign. After three losses in five matches, Shubman Gill's side must arrest the slide quickly or face the danger of missing out on playoffs for the first time since their inception in 2022.
Jaiswal's form only worry for Royals
A lot was expected from Yashasvi Jaiswal, who enjoyed a ground-breaking IPL 2023, which also paved his way to the national team. The young left-hander took no time to settle in the Indian squad, notching up over 1,500 runs since making his international debut on the West Indies tour in July 2023.
He enjoyed a sensational start to his international career, smashing three centuries in Tests and one in T20Is, besides four half-centuries each in both formats in such a short period.
Surprisingly, he has failed to make a mark in IPL 2024 with just 39 runs in four games. Against Titans, the Mumbai opener would be desperate to let his willow do the talking. If he succeeds, it will be icing on the cake for the Royals.
Buttler's return to form a huge positive
That Royals won the first three matches without the contribution of Jaisawal and Jos Buttler – capable of winning matches single-handedly on their day – tells a lot about the strength of the team from the Pink City.
With Buttler finding form with an unbeaten ton against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, the second century in IPL 2024 so far, the Royals become even more dangerous.
The England white-ball skipper (100 not out off 58 balls) overshadowed Virat Kohli's century to guide RR to a six-wicket win over the Challengers last weekend. Him getting support from Jaiswal would become a nightmare for the opposition teams.
Samson, Parag in top form
RR skipper Sanju Samson, 178 runs from four games including two fifties, and Riyan Parag, 185 runs, including two unbeaten half-centuries, have more than made up for the poor form of their top-order. But they need better support from middle-order batters Shimron Hetmyer and Dhruv Jurel to mount a serious title challenge.
Royals banking on potent bowling attack
If Samson and Parag have shouldered the burden of RR's batting, their bowling attack comprising Trent Boult, Nandre Burger, and Yuzvendra Chahal has done the heavy lifting in the first four matches. Chahal, in particular, has been their stand-out performer with eight wickets – the second-highest in the tournament so far.
RR would hope that like Buttler's return to form was icing on the cake, Ravichandran Ashwin also finds his magic touch soon to add more venom to the Royals' bowling attack. Ashwin has been way below his best, with just one wicket from four matches at an economy rate of eight runs per over.
Titans must plug holes to stay afloat
Watching Titans play this season reminds nothing of the team that reached two successive finals, including the title-winning campaign in their debut season in 2022. Hardik Pandya's cold-hearted departure to Mumbai Indians has proved to be unkind to GT, who have missed his leadership and all-round skills.
The burden of captaincy hasn't allowed Shubman Gill to be at his expressive best with the bat. Although Gill has scored 183 runs in five games, he doesn't look like the same player who won the Orange Cap last season by scoring close to 900 runs, including three centuries.
Not only do the Titans need him to be back at his best with the willow but also want him to find his feet as a captain quickly.
Hat-trick of losses looms large
It would take a special effort to avoid a hat-trick of losses against the only unbeaten side in the tournament, especially after a dismal effort with the bat against Lucknow Super Giants.
Gill's opening partner B Sai Sudharsan has looked good against the new ball but despite getting a start in every game, he is yet to score a fifty in the tournament.
The Afghan trio of Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmad have fallen well short of expectations. Rashid, surprisingly, has flattered to deceive.
Veteran pacers Mohit Sharma and Umesh Yadav have performed well in patches but it might prove to be too big a task for them to stop the marauding Royals juggernaut all alone .
RR vs GT Squads:
Rajasthan Royals: Sanju Samson (c), Jos Buttler, Shimron Hetmyer, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag, Donovan Ferreira, Kunal Rathore, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Sen, Navdeep Saini, Keshav Maharaj, Sandeep Sharma, Trent Boult, Yuzvendra Chahal, Avesh Khan, Rovman Powell, Shubham Dubey, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Abid Mushtaq, Nandre Burger.
Gujarat Titans: Shubman Gill (c), David Miller, Matthew Wade, Wriddhiman Saha, Robin Minz, Kane Williamson, Abhinav Mandhar, B Sai Sudarshan, Darshan Nalkande, Vijay Shankar, Azmatullah Omarzai, Shahrukh Khan, Jayant Yadav, Rahul Tewatia, Kartik Tyagi, Shshant Mishra, Spencer Johnson, Noor Ahmad, Sai Kishore, Umesh Yadav, Rashid Khan, Joshua Little, Mohit Sharma and Manav Suthar.
Match starts at 7.30 PM IST
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