Picking a combined GT-SRH playing 11 for IPL 2024 ft. Heinrich Klaasen and Rashid KhanÂ
Gujarat Titans (GT) are set to clash with Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Sunday (March 31) at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad. Both teams have a 1-1 record in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 season so far.
The Titans started the tournament with a six-run victory over the Mumbai Indians. However, they sustained a 63-run defeat against the Chennai Super Kings in their recent outing.
On the other hand, the Sunrisers began this season with a four-run loss against Kolkata Knight Riders. Nevertheless, they came back to slam the highest-ever IPL total of 277 against Mumbai and won by 31 runs.
It will be interesting to see which one of these teams secure a win and solidify their position in the points table. On that note, let's check out the combined GT-SRH Playing XI for IPL 2024.
Top-order: Shubman Gill, Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma
The opening pair for this team will be Shubman Gill and Travis Head. Although the Titans skipper has scored just 39 runs in two innings, he has been one of their finest batters over the last two years.
Meanwhile, Head made a return to the IPL after seven years and slammed 62 off 24 to lay a platform for the Sunrisers to post a mammoth total. At No. 3 will be Abhishek Sharma, who has scored 93 runs in two innings, including a sensational 63 off 23 against Mumbai.
Middle-order: Rahul Tripathi, Sai Sudharsan, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Rahul Tewatia
With over 400 runs in the 2022 season and over 270 runs in 2023, Rahul Tripathi deserves a place in this combined playing XI. He is expected to be among the key run-scorers for SRH this term. Then, the Titans' top-scorer, Sai Sudharsan will come in at No. 5 with 82 runs in two appearances.
The wicketkeeper role will be handled by Heinrich Klaasen, who is the second-highest run-scorer of the tournament so far. He has amassed 143 runs at a scintillating striker rate of 226.98. In the last game, he slammed 80* off 34 balls.
Although Rahul Tewatia has scored only 28 runs in two innings, he has proven himself to be a credible finisher in the last two seasons. Also, he can be the fifth bowler for the team, along with Sharma/Head.
Bowlers: Pat Cummins (c) Rashid Khan, Mohit Sharma, T Natarajan
The Sunrisers skipper, Pat Cummins will lead this side due to his success as a captain for the Australian team. Cummins has picked up three wickets this season, including two important wickets against MI to secure a victory for the team.
With two wickets in as many games, Rashid Khan is the specialist spinner of this team. The other two pacers in this line-up will be Mohit Sharma (3 wickets) and T Natarajan (3 wickets). Both have the ability to secure wickets at any point of the game, with their strength being containing batters in the death.