Injury-hit Capitals look to throw a wrench into Titans’ campaign

Match details

Gujarat Titans (GT – 6th; P6 W3 L3) vs Delhi Capitals (DC – 9th; P6 W2 L4)

Ahmedabad, 7.30pm IST (2pm GMT)

Big picture – Gill’s Titans vs Pant’s Capitals

What will also please Titans is that Rashid has kept Capitals’ captain Rishabh Pant quiet as well. Rashid has allowed Pant only 94 runs off 87 balls across all T20s. But like Gill, Pant has also shown the way for his side even as Capitals are ninth. So far, Pant has 194 runs at a strike rate of 157, having already shown shades of his best with two half-centuries, and some typically funky swipes and swats.

Capitals brought their campaign back on track by beating Lucknow Super Giants last week. Jake Fraser-McGurk starred with a fifty in that game, while Kuldeep Yadav, returning from an injury, pushed LSG back with 3 for 20. But Capitals now have injury concerns around David Warner, who was hit on his finger while batting against LSG. Warner is unlikely to start against Titans, who will be wary that things could get interesting heading into the second half of the season if 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, Titans finally picked M Shahrukh Khan after he spent the season on the bench despite being signed for INR 7.4 crore. Coming on as Impact Sub for Mohit Sharma, he smashed 14 from eight balls in what turned out to be a last-ball win for Titans. They could continue to use the same pair, with who replaces whom depending on whether Titans bat or bowl first.

Probable XII: 1 Shubman Gill (capt), 2 Wriddhiman Saha (wk), 3 Sai Sudharsan, 4 Vijay Shankar, 5 David Miller, 6 Rahul Tewatia, 7 Rashid Khan, 8 Noor Ahmad, 9 Umesh Yadav, 10 Spencer Johnson, 11 Mohit Sharma, 12 Shahrukh Khan

Delhi Capitals

It is understood that Warner experienced some swelling and underwent scans upon landing in Ahmedabad. That compounds Capitals’ injury issues, after Mitchell Marsh went back to Australia on suffering a partial hamstring tear. If Warner is absent, Capitals might start with Abishek Porel if they bat first and with Jhye Richardson if they chase.

Probable XII: 1 Prithvi Shaw, 2 Abishek Porel, 3 Shai Hope, 4 Rishabh Pant (capt & wk), 5 Tristan Stubbs, 6 Axar Patel, 7 Jake Fraser-McGurk, 8 Kuldeep Yadav, 9 Mukesh Kumar, 10 Ishant Sharma, 11 Khaleel Ahmed, 12 Jhye Richardson

In the spotlight

The top three wicket-takers last IPL were all from Titans. One of them, Mohit Sharma, has had a good time this season too. In the absence of Mohammed Shami and some support from Hardik Pandya, Mohit is Titans’ leading wicket-taker this year. His eight wickets have come at 27, although he has been taken for 9.39 runs an over. But when Mohit is bowling in Ahmedabad, the average slides down to 13.03, and the economy to 7.82. So expect Mohit to have an impact with his variations again.

Stats that matter

Pitch and conditions

Ahmedabad saw scores of 168 and 162 batting first in two matches, but that went up to 199 when Titans were playing Punjab Kings. The last two games were won by the chasing team, even as the first one was lost only by six runs. So expect the side winning the toss to bowl first.