Kagiso Rabada, Prasidh Krishna, and Mohammed Siraj make up a formidable pace attack, but the troika will have their work cut out for them when they take on “Boy Wonder” Vaibhav Sooryavanshi on a batting featherbed. Rajasthan Royals will start as favorites against Gujarat Titans in the IPL match on Saturday in Ahmedabad.
The 15-year-old destroyed the Chennai Super Kings attack with a 15-ball-50 to kick off Season 2 of “Vaibhav Kand.” But that was in the face of a subpar domestic attack and a chase of 127.
Sooryavanshi will attempt to match fire with fire once more on Saturday at the Narendra Modi stadium, but the batting flagbearer for the “Gen Alpha” will be put to the test by three renowned international bowlers in Rabada, Siraj, and Prasidh.
In contrast to the opener at Mullanpur, where Siraj was allowed just two overs and Prasidh was introduced as late as the 13th over, Titans captain Shubman Gill is expected to make a few more sensible choices.
In terms of batting, it is anticipated that the Modi Stadium’s track will be a haven for hitting through the line. The Rajasthan Royals, who have two tearaway quicks at their disposal in Nandre Burger and Jofra Archer, would like to challenge Gill, Sai Sudharsan, and Jos Buttler first because chasing has been the tournament’s tendency thus far.
The GT lineup’s top three batters, who aren’t exactly scoring at a strike-rate of 200 or higher, are the issue. Buttler (38 off 33 balls) and captain Gill (39 off 27 balls) didn’t seem to be in their element against Punjab Kings at Mullanpur. After an injury hiatus, Sudharsan (13 off 11 balls) is likewise attempting to settle into a rhythm.
The Titans’ batting hinges, the top three, haven’t exactly been in sync and are battling their own personal issues, which doesn’t help either. Even worse, their Indian middle order, which includes Rahul Tewatia, Washington Sundar, and Shahrukh Khan, doesn’t inspire the highest level of confidence.
Washington, who just played for the team that won the T20 World Cup and is highly regarded for his multifaceted abilities, has been a mystery in this format. With 40 wickets at an economy rate of 7.71 and 529 runs at a batting strike-rate of 125 across 67 IPL games in the last ten years, the Tamil Nadu player in the shortest format has, at best, been a bit player who doesn’t fit into any certain role or slot.
If the Titans bat first against the Rajasthan Royals, they must score at least 220 to allow their bowlers to attack Sooryavanshi; if they chase, they must limit the opposition to 200. Over the past two seasons, their batting in “death” overs hasn’t exactly been outstanding.
Even for his state side, Haryana, Tewatia bowls little and hasn’t appeared to be an attacker from the start. It is puzzling that a coach of Ashish Nehra’s caliber hasn’t identified a suitable successor for Shahrukh, who has severe mechanical problems against strong bowling.
On paper, the Royals appear to be a strong squad, even though there are still concerns about meritocracy. Riyan Parag of Assam was chosen as the team’s captain, ignoring Indian stars like Ravindra Jadeja, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Dhruv Jurel.
The Royals’ performance this season—the final one under the previous administration before the Kal Somani-led group takes over starting next year—will depend on how the batting performs on pressure days.
With six wins out of eight games, Gujarat Titans have a commanding head-to-head record versus Rajasthan Royals. In the previous IPL 2025 season, both teams won a game each.
Gujarat Titans Probable XI: Shubman Gill (captain), Sai Sudharsan, Jos Buttler (wicketkeeper), Glenn Phillips, Washington Sundar, M Shahrukh Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna
Rajasthan Royals Probable XI: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Dhruv Jurel (wicketkeeper), Riyan Parag (captain), Shimron Hetmyer, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravi Bishnoi, Jofra Archer, Ravi Bishnoi, Nandre Burger, Sandeep Sharma
