Rajasthan Royals v Gujarat Titans: IPL 2022 match preview

The Cricketer takes a look at the next fixture in the 2022 Indian Premier League season

What's the match?

Rajasthan Royals take on Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League.

When is it taking place?

The game will be played on Thursday, April 14. The first ball will be bowled at 7:30pm local time (3pm GMT).

Where is the match being played?

The match will be held at the DY Patil Sports Academy in Mumbai.

Who's got the form?

Rajasthan Royals sit at the top of the IPL table, with a game in hand over their nearest rivals Kolkata Knight Riders and three wins from four games.

The Royals have benefitted from having Jos Buttler at the top of the order. The England international is currently in possession of the orange cap having scored 218 runs at an average of 72.66.

Yuzvendra Chahal has also provided equal rewards with the ball for the Royals and holds the purple cap having taken 11 wickets with his experienced right-arm leg breaks.

Royals have also benefited from some successful overseas signings such as Trent Boult and Shimron Hetymer who join the experienced Indian internationals of Ravichandran Ashwin and Sanju Samson.

Gujarat Titans can match Rajasthan’s tally of three wins out of four but sit fourth in the table owing to their inferior net run rate. 

The Titans come into the fixture off the back of an eight-wicket loss to Sunrisers Hyderabad. Gujarat’s batters struggled in the fixture and were only able to post 162 for Sunrisers to chase, 22 of which came from extras.

Nonetheless, the Titan’s batting has been strong so far in the tournament and Shubman Gill has been excellent at the top of the order scoring a total of 187 runs. He has been complemented by excellent power hitting from captain Hardik Pandya lower down the order.

The Titans have strength in their bowling line up with the unplayable leg spin of Rashid Khan allowing them to dry up opposition team’s scoring and take regular wickets. Lockie Ferguson has also been good for the side, taking four-fer against Delhi Capitals, but he can be expensive at times.

^{Jos Buttler}

What's the key match-up?

The openers for both sides - Buttler for the Royals and Gill for the Titans - will be the key wickets. Both are in superb form going into the fixture and are vital for their sides to post good scores.

The quick New Zealand bowlers of Lockie Ferguson and Trent Boult will also go head-to-head. Whichever can keep the opposition batters from getting into their stride most effectively will be a big contribution to the winning side.

Head-to-head record 

Matches played: 0

Rajasthan Royals wins: 0

Gujarat Titans wins: 0

What's the weather forecast?

Temperatures will hover around 30 degrees Celsius in Mumbai after the sun goes down before the fixture.

What are the squads?

Rajasthan Royals: Sanju Samson, Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal, R Ashwin, Trent Boult, Shimron Hetmyer, Devdutt Padikkal, Prasidh Krishna, Yuzvendra Chahal, Riyan Parag, KC Cariappa, Navdeep Saini, Obed McCoy, Anunay Singh, Kuldeep Sen, Karun Nair, Dhruv Jurel, Tejas Baroka, Kuldip Yadav, Shubham Garhwal, Jimmy Neesham, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Rassie van der Dussen, Daryl Mitchell

Gujarat Titans: Hardik Pandya, Shubman Gill, Rashid Khan, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Mohammad Shami, Lockie Ferguson, Abhinav Sadarangani, Rahul Tewatia, Noor Ahmad, R Sai Kishore, Dominic Drakes, Jayant Yadav, Viijay Shankar, Darshan Nalkande, Yash Dayal, Alzarri Joseph, Prandeep Sangwan, David Miller, Wriddhiman Saha, Matthew Wade, Gurkeerat Singh, Varun Aaron

^{Shubman Gill}

What are the possible starting XIs?

Rajastahn Royals: Jos Buttler, Devdutt Padikkal, Sanju Samson, Rassie van der Dussen, Shimron Heytmyer, Riyan Parag, Kuldeep Sen, Ravichandran Ashwin, Prasidh Krishna, Trent Boult, Yuzvendra Chahal

Gujarat Titans: Shubman Gill, Matthew Wade, Sai Sudharsan, Hardik Pandya, David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Abhinav Manohar, Rashid Khan, Lockie Ferguson, Mohammad Shami, Sai Kishore

What are the odds?

Bet365 has Rajasthan Royals as the favourites at 4/5 and Gujarat Titans at evens. Paddy Power has the same odds.

What's the prediction?

It’s a tough one with both sides coming into the fixture in similar form and both line-ups packed with star quality. If Buttler fires however and Rajasthan’s middle order are able to tee-off then Gujarat may struggle to contain them. Rajasthan just take the prediction, but it will likely be a very close fought match.

Where can I watch the game?

In the UK, Sky Sports have exclusive rights to this year's tournament, with matches available on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Cricket.

Fans in India can watch all of the action on Star Sports.

Elsewhere in the world, viewers in Australia can watch the IPL on Fox Sports while in New Zealand, Sky Sport will provide coverage.

Willow TV and Flow Sports will broadcast the tournament in the United States and the Caribbean, respectively.

Fans in MENA can catch the action on beIN Sports while in South Africa, SuperSport have the rights.

The IPL can also be streamed on Disney+ and Hotstar in certain areas.