The Pandya brothers - Hardik and Krunal - will be coming face to face for the first time as respective captains of their Indian Premier League (IPL) teams when the Narendra Modi Stadium hosts Sunday’s fixture between Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants.
While Hardik has been leading the Titans since the last season, his elder brother Krunal was elevated to the captaincy role this time around after Lucknow’s regular skipper K.L. Rahul was ruled out of the tournament due to a thigh injury.
The Super Giants have never beaten the Titans in the IPL, and in his new role, Krunal will be hoping to turn the tide.
After winning four of its first six games, LSG lost the plot midway and will enter the game on the back of a loss to Royal Challengers Bangalore and a washed out fixture against Chennai Super Kings, whereas Gujarat Titans steamrolled Rajasthan Royals in its last outing and is leading the points table.
All three of Titans’ losses this season have come in Ahmedabad - the last being a disaster against Delhi Capitals, earlier this week. But the nine-wicket win against Royals will boost the team’s morale. With Mohammed Shami spearheading the pace attack and wily Rashid Khan handling the spin department, the bowling unit has rarely faltered so far for Titans. Shami and Rashid are the joint highest wicket-takers with 18 scalps each and the expectations will again be high from the spin ace, who along with his compatriot Noor Ahmad, has been Titans’ go-to-man for breakthroughs
While Joshua Little will be missing out on the next few games due to his international commitment with Ireland, Mohit Sharma would fit in perfectly as an impact sub.
Shrugging off the disappointments against Delhi, Shubman Gill, Wriddhiman Saha and captain Hardik returned to form against Royals, and the batters will be hoping to keep the momentum going at the fag end of the league stage.
LSG batters have blown hot and cold this season, and without Rahul, the side struggled to go beyond 130 in its last two outings. Quinton de Kock, who had to sit out so far, is likely to return to the final XI, while it needs to be seen whether Karun Nair, coming in as Rahul’s replacement, gets a game.
While batting is an area of concern, things are not quite bright on the fast bowling front either. With Jaydev Unadkat out of the tournament due to injury, the team management will be hoping to see Mark Wood back in action soon.
In Wood’s absence, Afghan quick Naveen-ul-Haq has managed to pick wickets, while spinners Ravi Bishnoi and Amit Mishra have had an impact. But as the race for playoffs intensifies, further slip-ups can hurt LSG.
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