Cricket Indian Premier League Prediction

Rajasthan Royals vs Gujarat Titans - Match Preview

🏏 5 May 2023 - 18:00 GMT +0

Friday’s 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) action comes from the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur where the competition’s inaugural champions Rajasthan Royals (W5, L4) will lock horns with current champions Gujarat Titans (W6, L3). The Titans may have a 3-1 lead in the H2H register, but it is the Royals who won the first of the two encounters of this current regular season.

The Royals are coming into this match having lost to the Mumbai Indians by six wickets in a ‘right Royal run-fest at the Wankhede Stadium in Sunday’s doubleheader. A brilliant maiden IPL century (124) from Yashasvi Jaiswal helped the visitors post a competitive 212/7 from their 20 overs. In the Mumbai chase, a tidy four overs from Ravichandran Ashwin (4-0-27-2) couldn’t prevent the home side from taking the points with three balls and six wickets remaining.

With two batters in the top 13 of the Orange Cap race (most runs) table as of Wednesday, it comes as little surprise that the Royals are averaging the most runs per match of all teams. However, it is a different story with their bowling attack, especially in the death overs (17-20) where they are conceding on average nearly 42 runs, with only the RCB attack leaking more.

The Titans were sitting alone at the top of the table after Wednesday’s games, but come into this match having lost their most recent to the bottom of the table, Delhi Capitals, on Tuesday, in a match they really should have won with ease. Another excellent opening spell from Gujarat’s Mohammad Shami in the powerplay (four wickets) and tidy bowling from the other five bowlers used by Hardik Pandya contained the Capitals to a very ordinary 130/8. In their reply, the Titans’ batters lacked intent and gumption in their 20 overs, mustering just 125/6, with only Pandya (59) playing any innings worthy of note.

In contrast with the Royals, the Titans’ bowlers have been the stronger of the two disciplines, having conceded on average 163 runs per match, with only the Lucknow Super Giants boasting a better record. Titans’ batting coach Gary Kirsten may need to address his batters about their lack of sixes being scored in the middle overs (7-16) where they are averaging just 1.56 per innings, the worst of all teams.

⚡ Players to watch: Rajasthan’s wrist spinner Yuzvendra Chahal on his day is a game-changer and match-winner. Although he has claimed 12 wickets at 23.25 apiece this season, he has been a tad expensive, conceding 8.45rpo which is higher than his overall career economy rate of 7.67rpo.

He may get to have another bowl at the Titans’ best batter of this campaign, Shubman Gill, who has notched up 339 runs including three half-centuries. The pair have faced off against each other in six matches with Chahal taking Gill’s wicket just once for 38 runs from 35 balls.

📋 Stat attack: The average all-time first innings score in Jaipur is 159, though it is far higher (179) this season.

• The Royals have won 79% of their matches in Jaipur when batting second.
• Rashid Khan has taken the scalp of Jos Buttler three times in the IPL for a cost of just 30 runs (SR 63.82).
• The Titans have accrued 56 sixes this season, compared with the Royals who have sent 75 over the ropes. Just twice has Gujarat scored the most sixes of a match this season.
• Gujarat posted the larger powerplay score in seven of their nine matches this season.
• Similarly, Rajasthan recorded the highest opening partnership seven times in 2023.
• A Rajasthan batter has produced the top individual score of the match in six of their nine matches this campaign.
• David Miller scored at 11 runs per over against the bowling of Yuzvendra Chahal in the T20s (3/96 from 52).
• Jos Buttler averages just 12.50 at a rate of 4.17rpo against Rashid Khan in the T20s, being dismissed four times (4/50 from 72).