IPL 2022, Qualifier 1 | Gujarat Titans vs Rajasthan Royals - Preview, head to head, where to watch, and betting tips
Gujarat Titans and Rajasthan Royals, the top two sides of IPL 2022, will face each other on April 24 in Qualifier 1 of the ongoing edition at Eden Gardens, Kolkata. While GT lost to Royal Challengers Bangalore in their previous game, RR beat Chennai Super Kings before heading to this crucial match.
The 15th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has nearly come to an end. The season has seen two new franchises – Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants – dominating the existing eights more often than not, and one of them will now be playing in Qualifier 1 with the aim to qualify straight to the final. They are Gujarat Titans, who have got Hardik Pandya as their leader.
On April 24, the Titans will be up against Rajasthan Royals (RR), another franchise who have been jubilant this year. Ahead of the season, they did some smart acquisitions from the mega auction, and have yielded rich dividends from them. Some of them are Devdutt Padikkal, Trent Boult, Ravichandran Ashwin, and a hungry Yuzvendra Chahal, who leads the Purple Cap race by taking 26 wickets in IPL 2022.
The Royals skipper Sanju Samson has been in good touch as well, while Jos Buttler, the Orange Cap holder, did not seem as ferocious in the past few matches as he was in the earlier phase of the tournament. For the Titans, Rashid Khan, along with Hardik, holds the key.
Form Guide
While the Titans had suffered an eight-wicket defeat to Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in their last match, the Royals defeated Chennai Super Kings (CSK) by five wickets before coming to this important contest.
Head to Head
The two sides have met just once this year. In that fixture, the Titans beat the Royals by 37 runs.
Predicted XIs
Gujarat Titans: Hardik Pandya (c), Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Shubman Gill, David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Lockie Ferguson, Yash Dayal, Mohammed Shami.
Rajasthan Royals: Sanju Samson (c & wk), Jos Buttler, Devdutt Padikkal, Rassie van der Dussen, Shimron Hetmyer, Ravichandran Ashwin, Riyan Parag, James Neesham, Kuldeep Sen, Prasidh Krishna, Yuzvendra Chahal.
Best Betting Tip
As a leader, Hardik has been batting more responsibly this year. After a resounding start in IPL 2022, he seemed to be out of touch for some time. However, he regained his form against RCB, scoring 62 not out from 47 balls, and will be looking to carry the momentum.
Match Prediction
It would be a tough one to predict, as both sides are equally strong on paper. However, our prediction would go in favour of the Royals, who are coming to this fixture full of confidence.
Match Info
Match -Gujarat Titans vs Rajasthan Royals, IPL 2022, Qualifier 1
Date - May 24, 2022
Time - 7:30 PM IST
Venue - Eden Gardens, Kolkata.