The two best teams of the season are all set to fight it out for the most luxurious prize of the IPL.
The Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Gujarat Titans will go all out when they step out on the picturesque HPCA Stadium turf in Dharamsala for the Qualifier 1 contest on Tuesday. The winning team walks away with the ticket to the final. Till Sunday, the day the big game is scheduled in Ahmedabad, they can just sit back, sip their coffee and watch the other teams in the playoffs sweat it out in their bid to grab the other ticket to the final. That’s indeed luxury in a tournament which seldom allows teams and players a breather.
Not that there’s nothing for the loser — they get a second shot at the final in Qualifier 2 — but the winners’ prize is too tempting to go into the match with a conservative mindset. Risks will be taken by both sides, and whoever manages the micro moments better will emerge as the winner.
There are no favourites for Tuesday’s game, it’s a match between equals. RCB, the defending champions, have been consistent all through the season and finished as toppers of the league stage. But the Titans have been no less. Slow and steady, they improved themselves with every game and had a terrific second half of the season in which they won six and lost just once.
Bowling brigades
Given the basic characteristics of the two sides, bowling will play a key role in determining the outcome of the game.
It’s no coincidence that on the wicket-takers’ list this season, the top two spots are occupied by RCB’s Bhuvneshwar Kumar and the Titans’ Kagiso Rabada. Both have 24 scalps each, with Bhuvneshwar having a better economy rate — 8.07 — than Rabada (9.18).
The two pacers, though very different from each other, have been a major driving force for their respective teams. Bhuvneshwar has been a complete package, both with the new ball and at the death. South African Rabada has been the enforcer with the new ball and has bowled at a fiery pace all season.
But it’s not just about these two pacers, RCB and the Titans rely a lot on their bowling units as a whole. It’s majorly fast-bowling on which these two teams strategise their attack and both have some excellent practitioners of the craft.
For RCB, the experience, guile and control of Australian Josh Hazlewood complements Bhuvneshwar’s impact. For the Titans, Mohammed Siraj’s exuberance adds to Rabada’s destructive pace. As a bonus, the Titans have found Jason Holder’s medium pace to be immensely effective. To counter that, RCB can throw in Jacob Duffy into the mix
on Tuesday.
The Titans have an edge in the spin department because of Rashid Khan, though the improvisations of RCB’s Krunal Pandya have often stumped the best of batters.
Batting front
Similarities between the two teams run through the batting line-ups as well. Their mainstays — RCB’s Virat Kohli and the Titans’ Shubman Gill — portray a similar style and will be expected to dictate the flow of runs.
Though RCB can claim to have a better depth in their batting line-up, they also have the headache of choosing the right partner to open with Kohli. Phil Salt has rejoined the side and if he is fit to play, it would be a straightforward choice. But if he doesn’t, they can think of promoting Venkatesh Iyer up the order. The left-hander has been in good touch and has had previous experience as an opener.
RCB will also expect skipper Rajat Patidar to deliver on his promise of being a big-match player. For the record, Patidar averages 81.66 in
IPL playoffs, with a strike rate of 172.53.
Advantage chasers
In the three IPL games in Dharamsala this season, two have been won by chasing sides and both were night games. With dew being a factor, it’s needless to what should be the ideal choice for the toss winner on Tuesday.