IPL debutants Gujarat Titans hold edge against Rajasthan Royals in Qualifier 1

Equipped with a lethal bowling attack and boasting a number of quality finishers debutants Gujarat Titans will start as favourites against spinheavy former champions Rajasthan Royals when the two teams faceoff in the first IPL Qualifier on TuesdayCaptaining a team in the IPL for the first time ever a fitagain Hardik Pandya has been a revelation this season as he led from the front with both bat and ball to ensure a top finish for his team in the league stageApart from firing at number 4 Pandya has used his resources well be it the death bowling of wily Rashid Khan or making his batting exploits count to go alongside the fiery duo of David Miller and Rahul Tewatia Every little thing has fallen in place Their weak link was their toporder batting with highlyrated Shubman Gill failing to convert his starts but the addition of veteran Wriddhiman Saha has done wonders for the teamThe discarded India wicketkeeperbatter is batting with a newfound passion at the top of the order and has scored three halfcenturies in nine matches to make up for Gills lacklustre runWhile the Afghan legspinner has been outstanding in the middle and death overs India senior pacer Mohammed Shami has given them perfect starts by being the highest wickettaker 11 wickets in the powerplay this season Saha who has been making headlines since he was axed for Team India will look to make a point as he along with Bengal teammate Shami play in front of their home crowd againThe fact that the playoffs will be played on fresh tracks would put the seamers in focus and Pandya may look to bring in Alzarri Joseph to go alongside Lockie Ferguson and Shami The Titans had defeated the same opponents by 37 runs in the league stage but the inaugural edition champions have a spinheavy attack to go with rich experience and they might prove to a tricky customer The Titans also have looked vulnerable as they suffered three defeats in last five matches including an eightwicket thrashing by Royal Challengers Bangalore in their previous outing which would mean that the Pandyaled side has to step upThree of Titans four defeats and four of Royals five losses have come while setting up a target as the toss would also be a key area of concernThe Sanju Samsonled outfit boast of both the Orange and Purple Cap holders this season Jos Buttler and Yuzvendra Chahal They also have the experience of Ravichandran Ashwin whose versatility has come to the fore especially in the secondhalf of the season Ashwins batting has also made a huge differenceBatting at number 5 ahead of their regular batters Shimron Hetmyer and Riyan Parag against Chennai Super Kings the other day Ashwin smashed an unbeaten 23ball 40 to script a fivewicket win that also sealed their toptwo finish But for them to repeat their 2008IPL winning show the Royals would not just need an Ashwin but the toporder to fireTheir leading rungetter Buttler has slowed down in the business end of the season with single digit scores 2 2 7 in his lastthree outings The Englishman who has slammed three centuries and three fifties this season is yet to score a halfcentury in five innings and the Royals would desperately need him to be back among runsTheir batting too has slumped with Samson and Hetmyers loss of form and they would look to get into the act ahead of the big match The fact that the loser of the Qualifier One will get a second shot at making the final will give both the teams some breathing spaceSquadsGujarat Titans Hardik Pandya c Abhinav Manohar David Miller Gurkeerat Singh B Sai Sudharsan Shubman Gill Rahul Tewatia Vijay Shankar Matthew Wade Rahmanullah Gurbaz Wriddhiman Saha Alzarri Joseph Darshan Nalkande Lockie Ferguson Mohammed Shami Noor Ahmad Pradeep Sangwan Rashid Khan Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore Varun Aaron Yash DayalRajasthan Royals Sanju Samson c Jos Buttler Yashasvi Jaiswal Ravichandran Ashwin Trent Boult Shimron Hetmyer Devdutt Padikkal Prasidh Krishna Yuzvendra Chahal Riyan Parag KC Cariappa Navdeep Saini Obed McCoy Anunay Singh Kuldeep Sen Karun Nair Dhruv Jurel Tejas Baroka Kuldip Yadav Shubham Garhwal James Neesham Nathan CoulterNile Rassie van der Dussen Daryl Mitchell Corbin BoschMatch Starts at 730 pm