Gujarat Titans v Sunrisers Hyderabad: IPL 2022 match preview

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

What's the match?

Gujarat Titans take on Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League.

When is it taking place?

The match will be played on Wednesday, April 27 with the first ball being bowled at 7.30pm local time (3pm GMT).

Where is the match being played?

The teams will face off at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

Who's got the form?

Both teams are in great form going into this match. SRH have won their last five after losing their first two, including a win over their upcoming opponents by a comfortable margin. That defeat of the Titans marks their only defeat in this season's competition, and Hardik Pandya's team will be out for revenge at the Wankhede.

A win for Kane Williamson's charges will see them leapfrog Titans and move to the top of the table. On the other hand, victory for Gujarat will open a four-point gap between themselves and the four sides on 10 points – a very handy position at the halfway stage of the competition.

Captain Pandya fired Titans to an eight-run victory over Kolkata Knight Riders on Saturday, with West Indian seamer Alzarri Joseph keeping his cool to take the vital wicket of Andre Russell at the death. Gujarat fans will hope that their impressive seam attack of Mohammed Shami, Lockie Ferguson and Joseph will give them the edge over Sunrisers.

However, that will be a tall order. Royal Challengers Bangalore were demolished by Sunrisers Hyderabad's seam attack, falling to 68 all out and a nine wicket defeat. 21-year-old South African left-arm quick Marco Jansen was the pick of an impressive bunch, bowling countryman Du Plessis, and then the prize of Virat Kohli for a first-ball duck the very next ball.

^{Abhishek Sharma has had a good IPL for Sunrisers Hyderabad}

What's the key match-up?

With both sides taking a bowling-heavy approach, the senior batters will be under pressure to navigate a chase. Look no further, therefore, than Hyderabad's partnership of Abhishek Sharma and Kane Williamson. Sharma has had an excellent IPL and scored 42 from 32 balls in the reverse fixture between these two.

Gujarat Titans may bring back Aussie wicketkeeper Matthew Wade to bolster their batting, but otherwise, Shubman Gill and Pandya will be tasked with the bulk of the run-scoring. The possible return of Washington Sundar would be a big boost.

Head-to-head record

Matches played: 1

Gujarat Titans wins: 0

Sunrisers Hyderabad wins: 1

What's the weather forecast?

A warm day is expected in Mumbai, with highs of 36 degrees Celsius, falling to 33 degrees by first ball of the match.

What are the squads?

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

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Kane Williamson, Abdul Samad, Umran Malik, Washington Sundar, Nicholas Pooran, T Natarajan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Priyam Garg, Rahul Tripathi, Abhishek Sharma, Kartik Tyagi, Shreyas Gopal, Jagadeesha Suchith, Aiden Markram, Marco Jansen, Romario Shepherd, Sean Abbott, R Samarth, Shashank Singh, Saurabh Dubey, Vishnu Vinod, Glenn Phillips, Fazalhaq Farooqi

What are the possible starting XIs?

Gujarat Titans: Wriddhiman Saha, Shubman Gill, Hardik Pandya, David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Abhinav Manohar, Lockie Ferguson, Alzarri Joseph, Yash Dayal, Mohammed Shami

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Abhishek Sharma, Kane Williamson, Rahul Tripathi, Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, Shashank Singh, Washington Sundar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Marco Jansen, T Natarajan, Umran Malik

^{David Miller played his best IPL knock in the win over CSK}

What are the odds?

The bookies make Gujarat Titans favourites for this match with 4/5 odds. Sunrisers are evens (1/1) to win tomorrow.

What's the prediction?

Given the stellar form of both teams, this will be a close one. Titans' short batting line-up may be exposed if Sunrisers' quicks perform at the same level as in their destruction of RCB last time out. A battle between the two best bowling teams in the competition will play to the strengths of Williamson and Gill who will look at anchor a low scoring match. Titans are just the favourites in this top of the table clash.

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.