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Legendary West Indies cricketer Brian Lara and former India batter Ambatai Rayudu were North Pole and South Pole before the Rajasthan Royals vs Gujarat Titans IPL 2024 match in Jaipur. Lara, the former coach of the Sunrisers Hyderabad, put his weight firmly behind the Royals, stating that the Sanju Samson-led side has got “everything covered”. But Rayudu had a different opinion. The former MI and CSK star said GT will beat RR on Wednesday.
“Rajasthan Royals is definitely outstanding and favourites for me. They’ve got everything covered. They’re playing good cricket and remain unbeaten so far in the tournament. I can’t see Gujarat Titans doing it tomorrow, Lara said on Star Sports Cricket Live.
RR have had a dream start to this IPL. They are the only unbeaten team in this tournament and sit on top of the points table with four wins on the bounce. But Jaiswal, who has been terrific for the national team of late, has tallied just 39 runs in four games.
If he is back amongst the runs, it will be icing on the cake for RR as his opening partner Jos Buttler returned to form with an unbeaten century against Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Sanju Samson has been leading RR from the front, scoring 178 runs from four games including two fifties.
Riyan Parag too has been in top form, scoring 185 runs, including two unbeaten half-centuries.
Rayudu, however, felt Gujarat Titans have the goods to stop RR’s dream run in the 17th edition of the league.
“Gujarat Titans is a superb side and so far they have managed really well. I don’t think anything changes in their squad or in terms of their mentality with these few defeats. I’m sure they’ll come back well, and purely based on the law of averages, I think Gujarat Titans are going to beat Rajasthan Royals,” he said on the same show.
GT have witnessed a mixed campaign so far with two wins and three losses out of five games.
The Shubman Gill-led side would look to avoid a hat-trick of losses on Wednesday but it would be easier said than done against an opponent on a rampage. They would be looking to bounce from back after a ‘poor’ effort with the bat against Lucknow Super Giants.
Gill, personally, have had a decent outing with the bat so far, scoring 183 runs from five games with a strike rate close to 147.
His opening partner B Sai Sudharsan too has been among runs but is yet to register a fifty in the tournament. He replaced Wriddhiman Saha at the top in the previous and is expected to bat alongside Gill also on Wednesday.
Veterans Mohit Sharma and Umesh Yadav have been the stand-out performers with the ball for GT but they fell flat in front of little-known Punjab Kings cricketers Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma in a thrilling tie. The Afghan trio of Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmad also need to raise their game.
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