DC vs GT, IPL 2023: 3 player battles to watch out for
Delhi Capitals (DC) will lock horns with defending champions Gujarat Titans (GT) in the seventh IPL 2023 game at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Tuesday, April 4.
After facing defeat in the first game against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), the Capitals will look to bounce back. DC's batting unit faltered badly in Lucknow and will have to come out all guns blazing if they have to return to winning ways.
GT, on the other hand, will look to continue their winning run after beating four-time champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in their opening fixture. It felt like the defending champions picked up where they left off last year, playing like a well-oiled machine.
The upcoming contest presents us with some important duels, given that T20 cricket is mostly about matchups nowadays.
On that note, let's take a look at the three player-battles to watch out for in the DC vs GT tie.
#1 Rashid Khan vs Mitchell Marsh
Rashid Khan is GT's go-to bowler whenever they need a wicket to stop the free flow of runs. The Afghan was on song in the first game, picking up two crucial wickets.
It will be interesting to see how Mitchell Marsh tackles Rashid, given that the Aussie all-rounder will be tasked with scoring quick runs in the middle over.
With the ball moving away from the batter, Marsh will have some trouble playing shots against Rashid, which makes it an enticing battle to watch out for.
#2 Hardik Pandya vs Kuldeep Yadav
GT skipper Hardik Pandya has shown tremendous maturity batting at No. 4. He has shouldered responsibility and batted for longer durations to win games for the team.
However, it won't be an easy job against DC, given that he will be up against Kuldeep Yadav. Despite a sub-par outing against Lucknow, he returned with figures of 1/35.
The left-arm spinner likes to keep things tight, which will not allow Hardik to free his arms. It will be interesting to see who comes up on top when the two Indian superstars go head-to-head at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.
#3 Mukesh Kumar vs Shubman Gill
The DC fast bowler enjoyed a decent IPL debut against LSG on Saturday, April 1. He has a good outswinger in place, which troubled KL Rahul a couple of times in that game.
He will be up against an in-form Shubman Gill, who is coming into the fixture on the back of a superb half-century. However, Gill has shortcomings against deliveries that go away from him after pitching within the stumps.
The right-handed batter will look to take on Mukesh and stamp his authority but the Bengal fast bowler will back his outswingers to get rid of the GT opener.