31 March,2024 07:05 AM IST | Mumbai | Sunil K Vaidya
SRH’s Heinrich Klaasen celebrates his half-century v MI on Wednesday. Pic/AFP; (right) GT skipper Shubman Gill during a practice session at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Friday. Pic/Gujarat Titans
It will be a battle of contrasts on Sunday afternoon when hosts Gujarat Titans take on the high-flying Sunrisers Hyderabad on a sweltering day at the Narendra Modi Stadium here.
Gujarat are still smarting from the 63-run defeat they suffered at Chennai Super Kings's home ground in Chennai on Tuesday, while Hyderabad are high on confidence after outplaying Mumbai Indians by 31 runs in a match that saw a record total of 523 runs.
The Hyderabad batsmen had a superb run in the first two outings, with their team crossing 200 on both occasions. On the other hand, Gujarat's batting has struggled a bit, with only Sai Sudharsan (45 and 37) showing a bit of spine. The rest of the batsmen have failed to build on their starts.
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Gujarat did well to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat against MI, but the Sunrisers are in a different zone altogether.
Hence, Gujarat will find the going tough. Shubman Gill & Co will have to show that when the going gets tough, the tough get going.
Before the first match of the season, Gill said that the team had collectively come together in the success of their first two seasons when Gujarat won in their maiden season and finished runners-up to CSK last year. He was referring to the absence of Hardik Pandya and Mohammed Shami.
The time has come for Gill and the team to prove that, as a unit, they have it in them to counter any opposition. The skipper will have to lead from the front and start scoring like he did last season.
Azmatullah Omarzai, Hardik's like-for-like replacement that GT acquired, will have to step up and perform with ball and bat. He has the potential, but needs to fulfil that promise.
For the Sunrisers, Heinrich Klaasen is on song, having hit 15 sixes in two matches. Although the South African wicketkeeper is at ease against the tweakers, his duel with GT's wily Afghan spinner Rashid Khan will be interesting.
The Gujarat batsmen have struggled against seamers in their first two matches, and Hyderabad boasts of a formidable pace attack, led by Pat Cummins. The Aussie has fond memories of the Motera venue, having won the World Cup for Australia here four months ago.
He also marshalled his resources well to halt Mumbai's march while chasing the target of 278.
It will be interesting to see if Cummins's astute leadership and marauding batsmen continue their winning streak or if Gill takes a giant step forward as captain to get back to winning ways. The victor will join the top four teams in the 10-team league.
