Big picture: Some yellove for the Titans
Has anybody else watched Gujarat Titans and got major CSK vibes? #HearMeOut
They have a captain who thrives under pressure. A coach who backs him no matter what. A fast bowler who is a powerplay phenom. A spinner who is very hard to hit (CSK used to have that with R Ashwin). And players who look like they have plenty of job security.
Take Vijay Shankar for example. He made 17 runs in 35 balls last season. Titans knew he was better than that. They have trusted him with a spot in the middle order in seven of nine games so far and the result of that trust is, currently, he has the highest strike rate (290) of all batters who have faced at least 24 deliveries in the death overs. People on the outside say players who go to CSK blossom. What will they say of a team which has made a former CSK player who couldn't blossom at CSK blossom with them?
Rajasthan Royals have built themselves a T20 powerhouse team. Proven performers at the two most crucial positions in a T20 batting line-up - the top and the death - and wonderful variety in their bowling attack. Which is why it will sting that they have lost (4) almost as many matches as they've won (5), including their last game where Yashasvi Jaiswal seemed to have single-handedly secured victory. Doing the double over the defending champions might be just the thing to help them get their bounce back.
Team news: Little set to leave
Josh Little has been outstanding in his first IPL season, picking up five wickets in seven matches at an economy rate of 8.5 while operating primarily in the powerplay and the death. Titans will be able to use him against Royals, but he leaves India after this game to play for Ireland in an ODI series against Bangladesh that is crucial to their chances of qualifying for the 2023 World Cup.
Form guide
Rajasthan Royals: LWLLW (last five matches, most recent first)
Gujarat Titans: LWWWL
"He has absolutely come of age," Tom Moody says of the Rajasthan Royals opener
Impact Player strategy
Kuldeep Sen didn't have the best time in the last game, but there's a little more real estate in Jaipur, where this match will be played, than there was in Mumbai. So he might still get a second go as an Impact Player. If not, Royals might go back to left-armer Kuldip Yadav, who did well on IPL debut last week, picking up 1 for 18 in three overs.
Royals Probable XII: 1 Jos Buttler, 2 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 3 Sanju Samson (capt & wk), 4 Devdutt Padikkal, 5 Shimron Hetmyer, 6 Dhruv Jurel, 7 Jason Holder, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Yuzvendra Chahal, 10 Sandeep Sharma, 11 Trent Boult, 12 Kuldip Yadav/Kuldeep Sen
Wriddhiman Saha is averaging 16 from nine games, but he's Titans' wicketkeeper, so it's unlikely they'll fiddle with his spot. Besides, they like giving their players time to get better. His opening partner Shubman Gill is likely to Impact Sub in or out with fast bowler Mohit Sharma
Titans Probable XII: 1 Shubman Gill, 2 Wriddhiman Saha, 3 Hardik Pandya (capt), 4 Vijay Shankar, 5 David Miller, 6 Abhinav Manohar, 7 Rahul Tewatia, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Noor Ahmad, 10 Mohammed Shami, 11 Josh Little, 12 Mohit Sharma
The big question
Stats and Trivia: Best vs Best
Royals have been the quickest scoring team (run rate of 9.6) in the powerplay this IPL but that's alright. Titans have the most economical bowling unit (7.3 run rate) in the powerplay this IPL.
Both these teams have been best in class in other key metrics as well like scoring rate at the death: Titans on top (12) followed by Royals (11.7) and spin strength: Titans on top (15.5 balls per wicket) followed by Royals (16.2)
Jaiswal is yet to be dismissed by a spinner in this season. He has faced 93 balls and hit 139 runs, including seven of his 18 sixes. But don't hit him with pace just for the sake of it because he hits them right back. His balls per boundary ratio against the quicks is 3.1. If he is able to score a minimum of 25 in his next innings, he will become the third-quickest Indian to 1000 IPL runs behind Sachin Tendulkar (31) and Ruturaj Gaikwad (31)
Shivam Mavi has knocked Sanju Samson over five times in 25 deliveries for 34 runs in T20 cricket. Could Titans consider using him as a super specialist, like how Sunrisers Hyderabad brought in Bipul Sharma against a right-hander-heavy RCB and he took out AB de Villiers to help them win the IPL final in 2016?
Because if Samson is able to get off to a start, he poses the single biggest threat to Titans' best bowler Rashid Khan. The Royals captain won this head-to-head handsomely in the previous game, hitting 28 runs in just nine balls. That's part of an overall head-to-head in the IPL which reads 109 runs in 92 balls for one dismissal.
Hardik Pandya is one of the best spin-hitters in the world, but his record against Yuzvendra Chahal does not reflect it: 48 runs in 55 balls including three dismissals.
David Miller might be able to help his skipper out there though. His record against Chahal is excellent: 96 runs off 52 balls for three dismissals. If he spends a long time in the middle, he could neutralise one of Royals' key wicket-takers.
Jos Buttler started the tournament well, scoring 204 runs in his first four matches at a strike rate of 170. But in five matches since then, he's managed only 85 runs at less than run-a-ball.
Offspin isn't supposed to work against right-handers but try telling Ashwin that. He's taken out nine of them and is the league's joint fourth-best dismisser of RHBs
Pitch and conditions
Since IPL 2018, the average first-innings score at Sawai Man Singh Stadium is 164. Over the same time period, fast bowlers have taken more wickets than spinners (97 vs 64) but spinners have been more economical (7.4 vs 8.6). The weather is set fair for the game after some showers in Jaipur this week.
The pitch for Friday night's game had a substantial covering of live grass on Thursday evening as the teams trained, with some drier patches just full of a good length. The strip is just off-centre, so one square boundary will be marginally shorter than the other.
Quotes
"Whether runs are coming or not, it's really important for me to stick to what I know... the end column [on the scorecard] if I do that will look after itself. I started the tournament really well doing that and I haven't scored the runs I would have liked in the last few games, but it's much more important to me to stay true to myself and just play in the fashion that I know."
Jos Buttler won't be changing much despite a lean recent run of form.
"Every game in the IPL is a difficult game so you can't take teams for granted and too lightly. I just think that we need to be on it every single game... in a period of 14 games you are going to slip up every now and again and that happens with every other team."
David Miller says Titans are staying calm despite their defeat to bottom-placed Delhi Capitals.
