 "Riyan will continue leading Rajasthan Royals in the absence of injured skipper Sanju Samson in Monday's home game against Gujarat Titans. AP")
The struggling Rajasthan Royals will be hoping to keep themselves mathematically alive in the ongoing season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) when they face the top-ranked Gujarat Titans in Jaipur on Monday. RR and GT couldn’t have had more contrasting campaigns this year – while the Royals find themselves on the verge of becoming the first team to officially bow out of the playoffs race, having lost seven out of nine matches so far, the Titans currently occupy the second spot after winning six out of eight games.
GT had thrashed RR by 58 runs when the two teams had met at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium earlier this season. Opener Sai Sudharsan scored a 53-ball 82 to help the Titans post 217/6 while Prasidh Krishna’s 3/24 ensured the Royals were bowled out for 159 in reply.
A victory for the Shubman Gill-led Titans on Monday should virtually assure them of a spot in the playoffs for the third time in four seasons though they are likely to get a ‘Q’ against their name only after they have eight wins on the board.
Rajasthan Royals vs Gujarat Titans players
RR predicted playing XII: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Nitish Rana, Riyan Parag (c), Dhruv Jurel (wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Jofra Archer, Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Akash Madhwal, Sandeep Sharma, Tushar Deshpande/Shubham Dubey.
GT predicted playing XII: Shubman Gill (c), Sai Sudarshan, Jos Buttler (wk), Sherfane Rutherford, Shahrukh Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Washington Sundar, Rashid Khan, R Sai Kishore, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Ishant Sharma.
Sawai Mansingh Stadium pitch report
The wicket at Jaipur’s Sawai Mansingh Stadium isn’t quite a batting paradise like Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium, Kolkata’s Eden Gardens or the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. The wicket here offers a balanced contest between bat and ball with large square boundaries, and a score in the range of 180 is considered par for this venue. Teams batting second additionally have won four of the last seven matches at this venue.
Jaipur weather forecast
Expect scorching conditions in the Rajasthan capital on Monday with maximum temperature going up to 44 degees Celsius. Will be fairly warm in the city even after the sun sets, with the temperature expected to remain in the mid-30s till 10 pm, around which time the second innings should be underway.
RR vs GT head-to-head record
Matches played: 7
RR won: 1
GT won: 6
RR vs GT head-to-head record at Sawai Mansingh Stadium
Matches played: 2
RR won: 0
GT won: 2