Gujarat Titans and Delhi Capitals, sitting pretty in the top three of the Indian Premier League standings, are more than the sum of their parts.
While the evolution of slam-bang cricket glorifies runaway brilliance and outlandish guts, GT and DC exemplify the value of collective effort. They will hope to reiterate that when they meet in an afternoon game at the Narendra Modi Stadium here on Saturday.
With the mercury touching 40 degrees Celsius, it will be as much a test of fitness as of skill. Flexibility has been the hallmark of both sides, with different personnel rising to the occasion. If Sai Sudharsan has done the bulk of the heavy lifting with four fifties in six innings, skipper Shubman Gill has also shouldered the PowerPlay responsibility while Jos Buttler has ensured the runs don’t dry up through the middle.
Jake Fraser-McGurk’s lean run has prevented DC from haring off the blocks in the PowerPlay, but Axar Patel’s men have made amends through a middle-order comprising the likes of K.L. Rahul, Tristan Stubbs and the skipper himself.
At a historically pace-friendly venue, DC’s Mitchell Starc, fresh off a yorker-laden death-bowling masterclass against Rajasthan Royals, and GT’s duo of Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna will headline an exciting subplot.
Both teams have been vulnerable against spin, with DC losing half its side to the tweakers against Mumbai and GT succumbing to Digvesh Rathi and Ravi Bishnoi’s guile in Lucknow.
In hot and dry conditions, the likes of Kuldeep Yadav, Axar, Rashid Khan and R. Sai Kishore could tip the scales.
Published - April 18, 2025 08:17 pm IST
