Gujarat Titans vs Sunrisers Hyderabad: Who will ace the pace?

Mumbai, April 26

The speed gun radar will be functioning overtime when Lockie Ferguson’s 150 km/h thunderbolts meet their match in rising pace sensation Umran Malik’s toe-crushers as table-toppers Gujarat Titans clash with Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL here today.

The newcomers are currently in the midst of a dream inception year with six wins from seven games at the halfway stage.

Interestingly, the only loss Gujarat have suffered was against Hyderabad and Hardik Pandya wouldn’t mind sweet revenge.

However, Hyderabad’s bowling attack, especially their four-pronged fast bowling, unit has been exceptional as one saw when they demolished Royal Challengers Bangalore for 68 in their previous encounter.

The disconcerting bounce and movement created by Marco Jansen (6 wickets from 5 games) is ably complemented by the fiery pace of Malik (10 from 7 games), deceptions off the track by T Natarajan (15 from 7 games), and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (9 from 7 games) balancing it all with his experience.

So much so that a lightweight spin department manned by left-arm spinner Jagadeesha Suchith in absence of an injured Washington Sundar, till now hasn’t been a cause of worry for Kane Williamson and Co.

In fact, the rub of the green has gone Hyderabad’s way this season as they now have five consecutive wins from five games where they have chased targets after the bowlers intimidated the rivals’ batting unit.

For Pandya, though, his bowling unit is no inferior to the opponents’ as Mohammed Shami’s artistry (10 from 7 games) and Ferguson’s aggression (9 from 7 games) has brought them a lot of success. They also have Rashid Khan with his ability to be better than passable even in a quiet year by his standards, with 8 wickets from 7 games.

However, one area where Gujarat need to lift their game is Powerplay batting as Shubman Gill (207 runs from 7 games) has gone off the boil after his 96 and Wriddhiman Saha, replacing Matthew Wade, has been downright mediocre.