Picking a combined GT-DC playing XI for IPL 2024 ft. Shubman Gill, Kuldeep Yadav
Gujarat Titans (GT) take on Delhi Capitals (DC) in match number 32 of IPL 2024 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Wednesday, April 17. GT have won three and lost three of their six matches and find themselves in sixth position in the points table. DC, meanwhile, are ninth, with two wins and four losses from six matches.
In their previous match, GT registered a close three-wicket victory over Rajasthan Royals at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. Batting first, Rajasthan Royals put up 196-3. In their chase Gujarat Titans were in trouble at 157-6 but sneaked home courtesy of a lower-order fightback.
Looking at DC, they beat Lucknow Super Giants by six wickets in their last game. Bowling first, Delhi restricted Lucknow to 167-7 before chasing down the target in 18.1 overs. It was a good morale-boosting win for Delhi Capitals after consecutive defeats.
In the head-to-head battle, Gujarat have a 2-1 lead over Delhi. As the teams prepare for the battle on Wednesday, we pick a combined XI of the two sides for IPL 2024:
Openers: Shubman Gill (c), Prithvi Shaw
GT skipper Shubman Gill and Delhi Capitals opener Prithvi Shaw would open the innings in the combined XI. Gill would also lead the team.
The right-handed batter has notched up 255 runs in six innings at an average of 51 and a strike rate of 151.79. Gill contributed 72 off 44 in GT's hard-fought win over RR.
As for Shaw, he has made some handy contributions for DC at the top of the order.
The attacking batter scored 43 off 27 against Chennai Super Kings, 66 off 40 against Mumbai Indians and 32 off 22 against Lucknow Super Giants.
Middle-order/ All-rounders: Sai Sudharsan, Rishabh Pant (wk), Jake Fraser-McGurk, Rahul Tewatia, Axar Patel, Rashid Khan
Sai Sudharsan has had a strange IPL 2024 season for Gujarat Titans. He has played six innings and has crossed the 30-run mark in all of them but is yet to register a half-century.
Sudharsan has a highest score of 45, which he has registered twice - against Mumbai and Hyderabad. In his last three innings, he has scored 33, 31 and 35 respectively.
Delhi Capitals skipper Rishabh Pant and young Jake Fraser-McGurk featured in a match-defining stand against Lucknow. The duo added 77 for the third wicket.
While Pant contributed 41 off 24, Fraser-McGurk made a significant impact on his IPL debut, smashing 55 off 35, a knock featuring two fours and five sixes. As a pair, Pant and Fraser-McGurk could be highly destructive in the middle order.
GT finisher Rahul Tewatia has proved this season as well why he's such a key part of the franchise. With his side on the back foot, the aggressive left-hander struck 22 off 11 to bring his side back into the contest against Rajasthan Royals. Before that, Tewatia had contributed 30 off 25 against LSG and 23* off 8 versus Punjab Kings.
Axar Patel and Rashid Khan would be the all-rounders in the combined XI. Axar has not done much with the bat in IPL 2024 but has impressed with his economical bowling.
While he has claimed only four wickets in six matches, Axar has an economy rate of 7.25. Against LSG, he ended with figures of 0-26 from his four overs.
Rashid was the Player of the Match for his brilliant all-round showing in GT's win over RR in Jaipur. With the ball, he conceded only 18 runs in his four overs and picked up the huge wicket of Jos Buttler.
In the chase, he combined with Tewatia in a game-changing stand. Rashid struck 24* off 11 and also hit the winning runs off the last ball.
Bowlers: Kuldeep Yadav, Mohit Sharma, Spencer Johnson
Delhi Capitals' Kuldeep Yadav made a memorable comeback against LSG after missing three matches due to injury.
The left-arm wrist-spinner claimed 3-20 in his four overs and was named the Player of the Match for his impressive effort. Kuldeep had got the big wickets of KL Rahul, Marcus Stoinis and Nicholas Pooran to hurt Lucknow in a big way.
The GT duo of Mohit Sharma and Spencer Johnson would be the main pacers in the combined XI.
Mohit has picked up eight wickets in six matches at an average of 27. He claimed 3-25 against Hyderabad in a home game. Mohit was expensive in the last match but will be confident of making a strong comeback.
Australian left-arm pacer Johnson has done a decent job for GT in IPL 2024. He has three wickets in four matches. Johnson claimed two wickets against Mumbai and one against Chennai. He has gone wicketless in the last two games and will hope for a fruitful outing against Delhi Capitals.