Titans will look to put Capitals collapse behind as Kings wait
Though statisticians will revel in the aesthetic symmetry of the rst reverse xture of the IPL marking exactly the halfway point of the tournament, Punjab Kings and Gujarat Titans will be preoccupied with getting their pear-shaped campaigns back on track when they meet at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium here on Sunday.
After Kings suered a third straight narrow defeat at home here on Thursday, the locals had some relief from the scorching heat in the form of unseasonal showers, but the blue in the sky returned on match eve.
The host will hope for some momentum to return too as it locks horns with a side against which it last tasted success in a stunning run-chase that saw the birth of the Shashank Singh-Ashutosh Sharma phenomenon.
Since then, the uncapped youngsters, touted as late-overs specialists, have emerged as Punjab’s top two run-scorers. Such are its top-order blues that injured skipper Shikhar Dhawan, likely to miss a third match in a row, is Punjab’s third-highest scorer.
Bairstow will look to find his touch while Ashutosh will look to continue his good form.
Meanwhile, the law of averages has caught up with Gujarat, which lost only 10 games in its rst two seasons. The team’s fourth defeat in seven games this year saw the 2022 champion being bowled out for a paltry 89 against Delhi Capitals. Barring skipper Shubman Gill, no Titans batter
who has faced a minimum of 10 balls has a strike rate in excess of 140 or an average above 35.
With the pitch helping the seamers, the battle between Harshal Patel and Mohit Sharma, both exponents of the slower delivery and variations, will be interesting.