Sanju Baba vs Hardik Bhai

With local outfit Gujarat Titans storming to the IPL15 final Aava de their team slogan is likely to outnumber RRrsquos ldquoHalla Bolrdquo tonight when they take centrestage for the allimportant matchup at the gigantic Narendra Modi Stadium here before a recordbreaking 125 lakh fansHardik Pandya will aim to guide GT to glory in its very first season just like how the late Shane Warne did to RR in 2008 For Sanju Samson amp Co it will be the best tribute they could pay to the legendary Australian who passed away just weeks before IPL15 got underway in March When the razzmatazz of AR Rahman and Ranveer Singh settles down all eyes will be on the field of play where it will mean businessRR would certainly fancy their chances to lift the IPL trophy again after 12 years the team was banned for two years in 2016 and 2017 in the spot fixing scandal if we go by the trend which suggests that on seven occasions the team finishing second on the points table have gone on to win the title since playoffs were introduced in 2011 editionButtler in formIf IPLrsquos highest rungetter Jos Buttler continues to bat mercilessly like how he did against RCB in Qualifier2 in which he struck an unbeaten tonmdashhis fourth of the tournamentmdashthen GT bowlers are in for some Royal bashingldquoItrsquos hard to describe what he Buttler has done for us this season He started off so well had a little bit of a flutter at one point in the tournament but he calmed himself down had good conversations rather than just training He accepted hersquos mortal hersquos human and he canrsquot have that high level of excellence every single day He can accelerate at any point has all the strokes and understands the game really well I canrsquot remember anyone batting this well in the history of the IPLrdquo RRrsquos director of cricket Kumar Sangakkara said after witnessing another menacing act from his inform openerThough RR pacers Prasidh Krishna and Obed McCoy did wonderfully in the Qualifier2 spinners R Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal not being at their best could be a concern The RR spin duo have been expensive in the last two matches and have claimed only one wicket between them The spinners were wicketless when they last faced GT in the Qualifier1ldquoThey GT are an exceptional team highly skilled really well settled and performing at peak consistently throughout the tournament so itrsquos going to be a tough challengerdquo said SangakkaraA topsyturvy roadGujarat Titans have had a topsyturvy road to the final On some occasions they have been clinical but many times a special rescue act was needed to get the team through Unlike RR where Buttler and Chahal are dominating players of their campaign GT have a bunch of players who have risen to the occasion at various juncturesIt is learnt that the team have developed a culture of rewarding players after every game ldquoWe have our own Most Valuable Player award Impact Player of the Match award best Assist of the Match and an offthefield award for team contributorsrdquo an insider told Sunday middayGT vicecaptain Rashid Khan felt a complete team performance makes it difficult for opponents to have specific plans against them ldquoIt is not like we are dependent on any one player It is the contribution of all the XI players and that is why we are here in the final Thatrsquos why our opponents could never make a plan against us all of us take equal responsibilityrdquo said Rashid ahead of the finalRR have got the muchneeded experience of the venue but for GT it will be their first outingWhen the tournament started there were no expectations from Pandya amp Co but now the weight of expectations is evident The added pressure of performing at home is another factorPandya who looks up to MS Dhoni as his captaincy rolemodel has a golden opportunity to emulate his idol by becoming the second IPL team to win the title on home turf like Chennai Super Kings did in 2011 ExRR champs to attend finalRajasthan Royals have extended an invitation to members of the victorious 2008 team which was led by the late Shane WarneAn team spokesperson said ldquoSince it is at short notice not all will be able to come But players like Yusuf Pathan Swapnil Asnodkar Dinesh Salunkhe have confirmed their presencerdquo the RR official told Sunday middayThey are here despiteHardik Pandyarsquos outfit were labelled as nohopers There were no expectations from Sanju Samsonrsquos RR either given their poor track record They last made it to the Top4 in the 2018 edition Their last three IPLs were disasters finishing seventh second last on the points table twice and at the bottom once 2020NineNo of IPL finals won by teams batting firstTwoNo of times Gujarat Titans have beaten Rajasthan Royals in IPL15TwoNo of times RR have entered IPL final