It doesn't take long for momentum to shift drastically in Indian Premier League. Such is the nature of T20 franchise cricket that the fortunes of both Gujarat Titans and Sunrisers Hyderabad have virtually reversed within the span of a few days. And the two teams will head into match 12 of IPL 2024 at Ahmedabad with that altered context in mind. (SRH vs GT Preview | Full Coverage | More Cricket News)
GT, who were runners-up in IPL 2023, faced a crushing 63-run defeat at the hands of title holders Chennai Super Kings in their previous game. The hammering pushed Gujarat's net run rate down to -1.425, which is the worst among the league's 10 teams.
Meanwhile, SRH are coming off a record-breaking performance with the bat against Mumbai Indians. They notched up a humongous total of 277/3 against MI in Hyderabad, which was the highest-ever total recorded in an IPL innings. Heinrich Klaasen, Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma all smashed blistering fifties to power the home team, who won the match by 31 runs.
The sultry afternoon conditions in Ahmedabad might aid spinners a bit and would perhaps not be amenable to the kind of six-hitting carnage that SRH displayed against MI. But nothing can be predicted with absolute certainty in the IPL.
Before the GT vs SRH match begins, let us take a look at three key battles that could spice up the encounter.
Heinrich Klaasen Vs Rashid Khan
The mayhem that Heinrich Klaasen unleashed against MI was a familiar sight for anyone following the Proteas keeper-batter's prowess in recent times. The unbeaten 80 off 34 balls was preceded by a 29-ball 63, and the marauding 32-year-old will aim to make it three blazing half-centuries in a row on Sunday. It will be anything but easy against the guile of Rashid Khan, however. The Afghan leg-spinner can bamboozle the best of T20 batters and Klaasen will surely be on his radar.
Shubman Gill Vs Pat Cummins
The battle of the captains is expected to be an engrossing one. The 24-year-old Shubman Gill has had a relatively quiet beginning to IPL 2024, after his masterly display with the bat over the past two seasons for Gujarat Titans. The 'Prince' can put any opposition under pressure early with his fluent strokeplay, and he has done that to Australia and Pat Cummins in the past as well, in the Test arena especially.
Cummins, though, is as good as it gets in the world cricket pace firmament currently, and will be eager to see Gill's back early to swing the game in SRH's favour.
Travis Head Vs Mohit Sharma
That Travis Head is a big-match player and enjoys Indian conditions is well established. The 2023 ODI World Cup winner will try to follow up his 24-ball 62 against MI with another swashbuckling knock. Mohit Sharma, on the other hand, will rely on his variations, including a handy slower ball, in his bid to subdue the Aussie southpaw. Both senior pros are critical to their respective teams' fortunes and must win this battle to surge ahead.
Squads
Gujarat Titans: Shubman Gill (c), David Miller, Matthew Wade, Wriddhiman Saha, Robin Minz, Kane Williamson, Abhinav Mandhar, B Sai Sudarshan, Darshan Nalkande, Vijay Shankar, Azmatullah Omarzai, Shahrukh Khan, Jayant Yadav, Rahul Tewatia, Kartik Tyagi, Sushant Mishra, Spencer Johnson, Noor Ahmad, Sai Kishore, Umesh Yadav, Rashid Khan, Joshua Little, Mohit Sharma and Manav Suthar.
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Pat Cummins (c), Abdul Samad, Abhishek Sharma, Aiden Markram, Travis Head, Wanindu Hasaranga, Marco Jansen, Rahul Tripathi, Washington Sundar, Glenn Phillips, Sanvir Singh, Heinrich Klaasen, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mayank Agarwal, T. Natarajan, Anmolpreet Singh, Mayank Markande, Upendra Singh Yadav, Umran Malik, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Shahbaz Ahmed, Jaydev Unadkat, Akash Singh and Jhathavedh Subramanyan.
