SRH vs GT Prediction: Who will win today's IPL 2022 match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Gujarat Titans?
How does a T20 franchise let someone like Rashid Khan go? What series of decisions - economic or otherwise - led to the T20 great deciding to part ways with the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), for whom he played five Indian Premier League (IPL) seasons?
SRH chose to retain Kane Williamson as their first slot ahead of Rashid, and once they did, the Afghan leg-spinner was never going to make it into the auction pool. According to the IPL 2022 schedule, the Gujarat Titans (GT), who have won three in a row on the back of a bowling attack led by Rashid, will face off against the Orange Army in Match 21 of IPL 2022 at the DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai on Monday, April 11.
Life after Rashid hasn't been kind to SRH. Although they vanquished the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on the back of a calculated fifty from Abhishek Sharma, they've won only one of their three games and haven't appeared to be a settled outfit.
Meanwhile, GT have taken no time to get accustomed to the demands of the IPL. They needed a Rahul Tewatia special in their third game against the Punjab Kings to preserve their unbeaten record in the league, but captain Hardik Pandya has led from the front with clear intent and the side seems well-equipped to build on their positive start.
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IPL 2022 Match Prediction: SRH vs GT
GT won't need to make too many changes to a side that has been firing on most cylinders in IPL 2022. Vijay Shankar missed out on the last game with back spasms, and young Sai Sudharsan gave clear indications of his immense talent with a useful knock at No. 3. So the youngster should hold on to his place in the playing XI, as should Matthew Wade, who hasn't quite fired as an opener thus far.
Darshan Nalkande was expensive and although he did pick up a couple of wickets, SRH might want to target a man who appears to be the only weak link in a well-rounded GT bowling attack. Rahul Tripathi is probably the batter most equipped to play out and even take on Rashid in the middle overs, while Williamson needs to get his act together at the top of the order.
SRH need to think about their bowling combinations. Washington Sundar has been impressive over the last two games but he's desperately crying out for some support in the spin department, with the IPL team opting to play four frontline seamers along with part-time spin options in Shashank Singh, Aiden Markram and Abhishek. Umran Malik has leaked runs, and whether SRH want to back his express pace to bring them results soon remains to be seen.
The key for SRH will be to dismiss Shubman Gill, who has produced back-to-back knocks of immense quality, early. With most of GT's batting lineup wearing an inexperienced look, Pandya and Co. could be pegged back by some powerplay wickets.
However, with Bhuvneshwar Kumar lacking penetration, it's tough to imagine SRH having the bowling quality needed to run through GT. And given how lethal the Titans' bowling attack can be, they are the easy favorites for this encounter.
Prediction: GT to win Match 21 of IPL 2022