matching details
Gujarat Titans (GT – 6th; P6 W3 L3) vs Delhi Capitals (DC – 9th; P6 W2 L4)
Ahmedabad, 7.30 pm IST (2 pm GMT)
Big Picture – Gill Titans vs Pant Capitals
The Titans will also be happy that Rashid has silenced Capitals captain Rishabh Pant. Rashid has allowed Pant to score only 94 runs in 87 balls in all T20s. But like Gill, Pant has also shown the way to his team despite the Capitals being in ninth position. So far, Pant has scored 194 runs at a strike rate of 157, having already been at his best with two half-centuries and some typically funky swipes and swipes.
Capitals got their campaign back on track by defeating Lucknow Super Giants last week. Jake Fraser-McGurk scored a half-century in that game, while Kuldeep Yadav, returning from injury, took 3 for 20 to push LSG back. But the Capitals are now worried about the injury of David Warner, who suffered a finger injury while batting against LSG. Warner is unlikely to start against the Titans, who will be wary that things could get interesting in the second half of the season if the Capitals beat them on Wednesday.
form guide
(Last five matches; most recent first)
gujarat titans wllwl
Delhi Capitals wllwl
Team News and Impact Player Strategy
gujarat titans
Against Rajasthan Royals, the Titans finally picked M Shahrukh Khan after he had spent the season on the bench despite being contracted for Rs 7.4 crore. Coming in as an impact sub for Mohit Sharma, he scored 14 runs in eight balls in what proved to be a last-ball victory for the Titans. They may continue to use the same pairings, with who replacing whom depending on whether the Titans bat or bowl first.
Possible XII: 1 Shubman Gill (captain), 2 Wriddhiman Saha (wicketkeeper), 3 Sai Sudarshan, 4 Vijay Shankar, 5 David Miller, 6 Rahul Tewatia, 7 Rashid Khan, 8 Noor Ahmed, 9 Umesh Yadav, 10 Spencer Johnson, 11 Mohit Sharma, 12 Shahrukh Khan
Delhi Capitals
It is understood that Warner experienced some swelling and underwent a scan upon landing in Ahmedabad. The Capitals’ injury problems worsened after Mitchell Marsh returned to Australia with a partial hamstring injury. If Warner is absent, Capitals could start with Abhishek Porel if they bat first and Jhye Richardson if they chase.
Possible XII:1 Prithvi Shaw, 2 Abhishek Porel3 Shai Hope, 4 Rishabh Pant (captain and wicketkeeper), 5 Tristan Stubbs, 6 Axar Patel, 7 Jake Fraser-McGurk, 8 Kuldeep Yadav, 9 Mukesh Kumar, 10 Ishant Sharma, 11 Khaleel Ahmed, 12 Jhay Richardson
in the headlines
The top three wicket takers in the last IPL were all from the Titans. One of them, Mohit Sharma, has also had a good time this season. In the absence of Mohammed Shami and some support from Hardik Pandya, Mohit has been the leading wicket-taker for the Titans this year. His eight wickets have come for 27 runs, although he has taken wickets at the rate of 9.39 runs per over. But when Mohit is bowling in Ahmedabad, the average drops to 13.03 and the economy to 7.82. So hopefully Mohit will again impress with his variations.
statistics matter
pitch and conditions
The two matches in Ahmedabad saw scores of 168 and 162 while batting first, but it reached 199 when the Titans were playing Punjab Kings. The last two games were won by the team chasing the target, while the first game was lost by only six runs. So expect the team winning the toss to bowl first.
Himanshu Agarwal is sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo
