There is not much difference between the bowling attacks of the Rajasthan Royals and Gujarat Titans. But when it comes to batting, especially their approach, it’s chalk and cheese.
The Royals and the Titans face off in the Qualifier 2 at Mullanpur on Friday. The Royals will be on a high, having bulldozed past Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Eliminator contest. The Titans might be a little circumspect after being handed an absolute thrashing by the Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Qualifier 1.
The bowling of both the teams look quite steady, though the Titans were hammered by RCB the other day. But with quality men like Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj and Rashid Khan in their ranks, the Titans can rely on them, they won’t misfire every day.
The Royals’ bowling is led by Jofra Archer and the others rally around him. The English pacer has been brilliant in this IPL.
However, while the Royals take to their batting with a sledgehammer, thanks to Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, the Titans are more conservative in their approach, with captain Shubman Gill and his opening partner Sai Sudharsan being the pillars. That basically implies that if the Royals win the toss, elect to bat and then put up a huge total, just like RCB did in Qualifier 1, the Titans’ batting can crumble under pressure.
So the performance of the Titans bowlers can decide the fate of the match. If they can contain the explosive Royals, it will be a tight match. If not, it might be one-way traffic.