In the quest for playoff qualification, former champions Sunrisers Hyderabad will face off against the Gujarat Titans at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Thursday. The Titans, however, have already been eliminated from the top four contention and will be aiming to finish their campaign on a positive note.
With two matches remaining, Sunrisers Hyderabad currently occupy the fourth position in the standings with 14 points. To secure their spot in the top four, they need to win at least one of their remaining matches and hope for favorable results from other fixtures.
The Orange Army will once again look to their impressive duo of Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head for impactful performances. In their last outing, Sharma and Head powered their team to a convincing 10-wicket victory over the Lucknow Super Giants.
If Sunrisers bat first, they are likely to field the following lineup: Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Heinrich Klassen, Abdul Samad, Shahbaz Ahmed, Sanvir Singh, Pat Cummins, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat, and Vijaykanth Viyaskanth. If they bowl first, T. Natarajan will replace Viyaskanth in the XI.
In contrast, the Gujarat Titans, having lost their chance at a top-four finish, will be aiming to end their season on a high. They have a strong lineup featuring players like Shubman Gill, David Miller, and Rashid Khan.
For the Titans, their likely XI for batting first includes Sai Sudharshan, Shubman Gill, Shahrukh Khan, Mathew Wade, Rahul Tewatia, David Miller, Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmed, Umesh Yadav, Mohit Sharma, and Kartik Tyagi. If they bowl first, Sandeep Warrier will replace Tyagi in the XI.
While the Titans have won three out of the four previous encounters between the two teams, Sunrisers emerged victorious in their most recent meeting this season. However, the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium has been known to favor teams batting second, with 42 out of 76 matches won by the chasing side at this venue.
Stay tuned for live updates, match highlights, and expert analysis of the Gujarat Titans vs. Sunrisers Hyderabad match on the Hindustan Times website and app.
