IPL Qualifier 2: Rajasthan Royals vs Gujarat Titans for finals berth

Rajasthan Royals face Gujarat Titans in IPL Qualifier 2 for a place in the final against RCB. Key battles include Orange Cap holder Vaibhav Sooryavanshi vs GT's bowlers, a struggling Yashasvi Jaiswal against Kagiso Rabada, and Jofra Archer's matchups.

Plenty of exciting matchups will play out when Rajasthan Royals (RR) take on Gujarat Titans (GT) in Qualifier two of the Indian Premier League (IPL) at Mullanpur on Friday.

The second spot in the IPL final against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) will be at stake as Riyan Parag-led Rajasthan, buoyed by Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's heroics, and Shubman Gill-led Gujarat, crushed by a 92-run loss to RCB in Qualifier one, lock horns at Mullanpur.

Here are some exciting match-ups ahead of the match:

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi vs GT's powerplay pair of Rabada and Siraj

Sooryavanshi is the Orange Cap holder with 680 runs at an average of 45.33 and a strike rate of over 242, with a century and four fifties and a record-breaking 65 sixes. The eliminator against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) saw him single-handedly smoke a fiery Men in Orange unit with a 29-ball innings, including five sixes and 12 sixes out of the tournament. After doing well in his first-ever IPL knockout match ever, Sooryavanshi faces a very favourable match-up against the Titans. In three matches against GT, he has scored 168 runs at an average of 56 and a strike rate of 233.33, including a century. This season, he has scored quickfire scores of 31 and 36 against them. He has a fine match-up against both Rabada and Siraj. The left-hander has smashed 25 runs in 14 balls against Rabada and has smacked Siraj for 38 runs in 20 balls, as per ESPNCricinfo.

Could Rabada exploit a struggling Jaiswal?

Rabada, the joint-highest wicket-taker of the season with 26 scalps, has a fine match-up against Yashasvi Jaiswal, though; he has dismissed him thrice in 27 balls, with the left-hander having made just 27 runs against him at a strike rate of 100, as per ESPNCricinfo. Jaiswal, who has made 426 runs in 15 innings with three fifties, has had a sub-par second half so far, with scores of 51, 6, 3, 12, 43, 27 and 29.

Jofra Archer's match-ups with GT's top-three

Archer has dismissed Gill three times in 30 balls and has conceded just 36 runs at an average of 12.00, but he is yet to dismiss Sdharsan, who has made 44 runs in 33 balls at a modest strike rate of 133.33 against him, as per ESPNCricinfo. On the other hand, Buttler has been exceptional against Archer, having scored 109 runs in 56 balls against his English teammate at a strike rate of 194.64, being dismissed just twice. Buttler has scored 263 runs in four innings in the IPL playoffs, at an average of 87.66, with a strike rate of 162.34, with a century and a fifty each, and has the best score of 106*. Sudharsan has scored 233 runs in four IPL playoff innings at an average of 58.25, including a strike rate of 171.25, with two fifties and a best score of 96. In 12 IPL playoff matches, Shubman has made 477 runs at an average of 43.36 and a strike rate of over 142, with a century and a fifty, with the best score being 129.

Squads

Gujarat Titans Squad: Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill(c), Jos Buttler(w), Nishant Sindhu, Washington Sundar, Jason Holder, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Kulwant Khejroliya, Glenn Phillips, Anuj Rawat, Kumar Kushagra, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Luke Wood, Connor Esterhuizen, Ishant Sharma, Jayant Yadav, Shahrukh Khan, Manav Suthar, Arshad Khan, Gurnoor Brar, Ashok Sharma

Rajasthan Royals Squad: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Dhruv Jurel(w), Riyan Parag(c), Donovan Ferreira, Dasun Shanaka, Ravindra Jadeja, Jofra Archer, Nandre Burger, Sushant Mishra, Brijesh Sharma, Yash Raj Punja, Shubham Dubey, Aman Rao Perala, Ravi Bishnoi, Tushar Deshpande, Adam Milne, Shimron Hetmyer, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Kwena Maphaka, Sandeep Sharma, Kuldeep Sen, Yudhvir Singh Charak, Emanjot Singh Chahal, Vignesh Puthur.

(ANI)

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