IPL 2024: Predicting 3 players who could pick up the most wickets in today's GT vs SRH match
You can call it a contest between manipulators and bashers in IPL 2024.
Gujarat Titans (GT), having reached the last two IPL finals, have made an image of a tightly bound team trying to tactically beat the opponent with help from everyone.
SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH), meanwhile, thanks to their massive win against Mumbai Indians (MI), and a lineup of Heinrich Klaasen, Travis Head, and Aiden Markram look like a side hell-bent on batting opponents out of the contest.
But at the end of the day, as it always does, it'll all come down to which team's bowlers get it right which will decide who goes away with two points.
Below is our prediction of which three bowlers could be the most successful.
#3 Jaydev Unadkat
In the last match here between GT and Mumbai Indians, there was a hint of swing available early on. It got progressively better for bowling, with the older ball holding onto the surface, taking a bit of turn, and occasionally shooting low. And that stayed the same in the second innings as well.
Those seem like pretty good conditions for SRH's Jaydev Unadkat. The domestic legend replaced injured T Natarajan in the previous game and, although there's no clarity as such on the latter's recovery, he could get another game. Unadkat took the two crucial wickets of Naman Dhir and Hardik Pandya against Mumbai Indians, both when they were trying to break shackles and force pace in the game.
GT's openers are susceptible to swing early on while their middle-order could have difficulty taking on his slower ones too.
#2 Rashid Khan
Rashid Khan has had an off-season so far. In the first match, MI completely ignored him and went after other bowlers. He picked up a couple of good wickets against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) but his spell was ruined in the last over by youngster Sameer Rizvi's outrageous hitting on IPL debut.
But you can expect him to come good on Sunday. For starters, there will be an extra motivation to do well against his old franchise. Secondly, SRH are unlikely to leave him alone. That is exactly what he needs in helpful conditions because he's excellent at deceiving big hitters with turn and bounce variations.
Rashid against Head, Markram, and Klaasen is perhaps the best battle of the double-header-day and it would be anything but worth missing.
#1 Mohit Sharma
Mohit Sharma has flown under the radar to be one of the most consistent bowlers in the IPL at present. The veteran seamer just doesn't go wicketless and Ahmedabad seems to bring the best out of him. He has a whopping 22 wickets here in just nine matches, including his IPL best of 5/10, at an average of 11.18.
The last time he played SRH at home, Mohit registered figures of 4/28. Although SRH look like a much stronger team, they are yet to be tested against perhaps the best variations-extensive bowler in the IPL on a tacky pitch.
With three wickets in two games in IPL 2024, he's making a big charge for the Purple Cap and perhaps is also eying a spot in India's T20 World Cup spot. This match is unlikely to stop him.