As the Indian Premier League (IPL) rolls on, match number four will see two new teams, Gujarat Titans (GT) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), clashing against each other on March 28 at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.
The newly-formed franchises will look to give their campaign a good start as the upcoming match will provide an idea of what lies ahead for them.
Gujarat Titans will head to the competition in their debut edition under Hardik Pandya's captaincy. With Pandya now given an important task, GT will want him to have a good all-around season.
Their batting lineup lacks quality and is filled with vulnerability. The Titans almost have no name to rely on from top to bottom. Jason Roy's withdrawal has left them in a fix of finding an able opening partner for Shubman Gill. The possible options for the role are Matthew Wade and Rahmanullah Gurbaz.
While Gujarat's batting seems out of step, their bowlers can win them matches on their own. Rashid Khan, Mohammad Shami and Lockie Ferguson would make a solid bowling attack. At the same time, Yash Dayal, Rahul Tewatia, Varun Aaron, and Sai Kishore will also be crucial to their chances.
LSG shaped up pretty well on the auction table, entering the tournament with KL Rahul as their skipper. LSG has formed a strong squad, but the unavailability of their key foreign players for the first few matches pull them a tad behind. Marcus Stoinis and Jason Holder will arrive in India late due to their respective national duties, and this undoubtedly decreases the strength of Lucknow.
However, LSG has decent backup options to fill the gap and would expect them to come out good for them. They have struck the right balance between quality batters and bowlers and would want it to translate into positive results.
Match Details
Gujarat Titans vs Lucknow Super Giants, Match 4, IPL 2022
Date and Time- March 28, 2022, 7:30 PM IST
Venue- Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
Broadcast- Star Sports Network and Disney+Hotstar
Pitch Report
Wankhede Stadium's pitch has often been conducive to the batters with pace and bounce available off the surface for the bowlers' help. However, the last match played at the venue saw a low-scoring encounter. But with the tournament still in its early stage and fresh wickets on display, we expect a high-scoring affair.
Squads
Gujarat Titans
Hardik Pandya, Rashid Khan, Shubman Gill, Mohammad Shami, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Lockie Ferguson, Abhinav Sadarangani, Rahul Tewatia, Noor Ahmed, Sai Kishore, Vijay Shankar, Jayant Yadav, Dominic Drakes, Darshan Nalkande, Yash Dayal, Alzarri Joseph, Pradeep Sangwan, David Miller, Wriddhiman Saha, Matthew Wade, Varun Aaron, B Sai Sudharshan.
Lucknow Super Giants
KL Rahul, Ravi Bishnoi, Marcus Stoinis, Quinton de Kock (wk), Manish Pandey, Jason Holder, Deepak Hooda, Krunal Pandya, Avesh Khan, Ankit Rajpoot, Krishnappa Gowtham, Dushmantha Chameera, Shahbaz Nadeem, Manan Vohra, Mohsin Khan, Ayush Badoni, Kyle Mayers, Karan Sharma, Evin Lewis, Mayank Yadav, Andrew Tye
Probable Playing XI
Gujarat Titans
Shubman Gill, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Hardik Pandya (c), Vijay Shankar, David Miller/Dominic Drakes, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Mohammed Shami, Lockie Ferguson, Yash Dayal
Lucknow Super Giants
KL Rahul (c), Quinton de Kock (wk), Evin Lewis, Manish Pandey, Deepak Hooda, Krunal Pandya, Krishnappa Gowtham, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Dushmantha Chameera, Ankit Rajpoot
CE Fantasy XI
KL Rahul (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Evin Lewis, Deepak Hooda, David Miller, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Ravi Bishnoi, Lockie Ferguson
Captain- KL Rahul
Vice-captain- Hardik Pandya