The Gujarat Titans’ juggernaut seems unstoppable as they aim for their sixth victory on the trot and an assured place in the play-offs in their debut IPL season on Tuesday.
The Titans, leading the points table with 16 points in their kitty and with five games in hand, take on a stuttering Punjab Kings, lying seventh currently with eight points to their credit, at the D Y Patil Stadium here.
Punjab ready for revenge?
Punjab need to pull out all stops and play to their full potential to upset the Titans to whom they had lost by six wickets at the Cricket Club of India’s Brabourne Stadium on April 8.
Titans’ enviable run, with the lone hiccup having occurred against Sunrisers Hyderabad on April 11, has been marked by a few factors.
The team has not made many changes in their playing eleven, for one.
Although the openers have not performed consistently well with Shubman Gill’s form declining progressively, the rest of the top order has been impressive.
Captain Hardik Pandya has led the way with his consistent show, barring the odd game and injury-induced absence, indicated by his current fourth position in the top run-scorers’ list with 308 runs to his credit from 8 matches.
South Africa’s David Miller (276 runs) has started scoring regularly and also has the ability to finish the game along with Rahul Tewatia (179 runs) who smashed his way to 43 not out in 25 balls in their last game against Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Even Rashid Khan, in the team mainly for his bewitching leg spin-googly mix at a brisk pace, has blasted a flurry of sixes in the end overs at times to help Titans cross the finish line.
Super Shami
It is not a surprise that the Titans have been so successful in chasing the target, achieving victory in the last over on four occasions.
The bowing unit, led by Mohd Shami (14 wickets), has also performed consistently well.
All these factors not only point to how good the Titans have been but also signify the challenge faced by Punjab Kings who lost their last game against Lucknow Super Giants when both their top two run getters, opener Shikhar Dhawan (307 runs) and all-rounder Liam Livingstone (263), fell cheaply.
Captain Mayank Agarwal (161 runs) has had a mixed run while the biggest flop has been England’s Jonny Bairstow (79 from six matches).
In bowling, fast bowler Kagiso Rabada (13 victims) and leg spinner Rahul Chahar (12) have been the best of the lot. But the others, like the lanky Arshdeep Singh (3 wickets in 9 matches), have just not risen up to the challenge.
