May 16 (Punjab Khabarnama) : Former champions Sunrisers Hyderabad will look to strengthen their chances for playoffs qualification with a win over the Gujarat Titans at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Thursday. The latter are out of the top 4 race as they’ll look to salvage pride in the last league match of the season. However, the Titans can surely make the ride difficult for the home favourites if they manage to register a win.
With two matches still left, the Sunrisers are currently at no.4 in the table with 14 points. The former champions will look to turn the remaining matches in their favour to reach 18 points added with a possible finish in the top 2. A win in at least one match would be vital for their survival in the race.
The Orange Army will be once again counting on performances from their dazzling duo of Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head who propelled their team to a 10-wicket victory against the Lucknow Super Giants in their last match. Essentially, a win by a healthy margin will place them in a good spot against the remaining contenders in the table.
SRH likely XI (if batting first)
Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Heinrich Klassen (wk), Abdul Samad, Shahbaz Ahmed, Sanvir Singh, Pat Cummins (c), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat, Vijaykanth Viyaskanth
SRH likely XI (if bowling first)
Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Heinrich Klassen (wk), Abdul Samad, Shahbaz Ahmed, Sanvir Singh, Pat Cummins (c), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat, Vijaykanth Viyaskanth, T. Natarajan
Impact Players: T. Natarajan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Umran Malik
GT likely XI (if batting first)
Sai Sudharshan, Shubman Gill (c), Shahrukh Khan, Mathew Wade (wk), Rahul Tewatia, David Miller, Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmed, Umesh Yadav, Mohit Sharma, Kartik Tyagi
GT likely XI (if bowling first)
Shubman Gill (c), Shahrukh Khan, Mathew Wade (wk), Rahul Tewatia, David Miller, Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmed, Umesh Yadav, Mohit Sharma, Kartik Tyagi, Sandeep Warrier
Impact Players: Sandeep Warrier, Sai Sudharshan, Darshan Nalkande, Abhinav Manohar
Head-to-head
Both teams have met each other on 4 occasions where the Titans have won 3 encounters. The former champions also won their last showing between the two this season.
Pitch Report
The Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium is considered a batting-friendly track offering a lot of scoring opportunities to the teams. Out of the 76 matches played here at this venue, 42 matches have been won by teams batting second.
Fantasy XI
Travis Head (c), Abhishek Sharma (vc), Shubman Gill, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Heinrich Klassen, Abdul Samad, David Miller, Rashid Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, T. Natarajan, Mohit Sharma.