IPL 2024: Predicting 3 players who could pick up the most wickets in today's GT vs DC match
How do you recover from what you saw in the top-of-the-table clash in IPL 2024 on Tuesday? You move on to the next one.
This tournament is such that that is the only option. We are almost halfway through the season and excellent final-over finishes, laced with some great team performances and some brilliant individual ones too keep on coming.
For Wednesday, we have Gujarat Titans (GT) taking on Delhi Capitals (DC) in Ahmedabad. GT have won alternate games thus far in the tournament and have as many nagging issues as positives. DC managed to bag their second win of the season against the Lucknow Super Giants, thanks to some new faces.
Both GT and DC are still in contention for a top-four spot but would know that this is the time when they need to start stringing together some wins. Considering that, and the probable pitch conditions in Ahmedabad, we have attempted to pick three bowlers who could pick up the most wickets in the match:
#3 Rashid Khan
After struggling for the first two games in IPL 2024, GT leg-spinner Rashid Khan appears to have got a bit of his rhythm back. He has picked up a wicket each in the last four games and his economy rate has steadily come down to 7.96.
Currently, he's going through what we can call the 'Sunil Narine effect', where batters are playing him out in an attempt to attack other bowlers. However, Rashid has faced that before and is more than capable of tackling it, especially as he manages to increase his pace and consistency in hitting the right lengths.
Against DC, a team low on confidence and full of batters who won't shy away from going after him, Rashid should get the right opportunity to pick up a host of wickets.
He has historically been excellent against DC, snapping 20 wickets in 15 matches at 18.15. The last time he went wicketless against them was in 2018.
#2 Kuldeep Yadav
After missing a few games due to injury, DC left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav started against LSG from where he left off. He now has six wickets from three matches at an average of 13.50 and is in the form of his life.
GT batters, known for dealing with spin better than most, have had their struggles against the wrist tweakers in IPL 2024. The last and only time Kuldeep bowled at the Narendra Modi Stadium in the IPL, he put up an excellent 1/15, taking the crucial wicket of David Miller to help his team secure the win.
The Ahmedabad pitch would support Kuldeep and he might find more turn and some extra bounce than he did versus LSG. GT batters would have to be at their best to survive his four overs without too many body blows.
#1 Mohit Sharma
Contrasting to Rashid, GT pacer Mohit Sharma has lost a bit of momentum he built early in IPL 2024. However, despite the difficulties, he remains GT's best weapon in home games.
The right-arm seamer has a whopping 26 wickets in 11 games at the Narendra Modi Stadium in IPL at an average of 11.88, his best for any opponent. Most of his best spells, including a 5/10 in just 2.2 overs, have come at this ground. The last time he played against DC here, he took two wickets for 33 runs.
The grip and tacky bounce off the surface help him more than others because his back-of-the-hand slower ones are still good enough to trouble the best in the IPL. DC, with all their instability at the top of the order and a lack of support for Tristan Stubbs in the lower order, could have a hard time against the veteran pacer.