AHMEDABAD:
Shubman Gill
and
Virat Kohli
take centrestage as the Gujarat Titans host
Royal Challengers Bengaluru
in an afternoon match at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
Earmarked as one who could fill in Kohli's shoes,
Gill
has taken on the mantle with aplomb and has more or less cemented his place in the Indian team across formats.
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While Gill won his first Orange Cap last year, aggregating 890 runs in 17 matches,
Kohli
is the leading run-getter in this edition, having totalled 430 runs so far in 9 matches.
However, more than the individual runs scored, it's the strike rate that has dominate the conversation. While Kohli's knocks have come at a strike rate of 145.76, Gill has been striking at a similar rate of 146.15, not among the highest this season.
Gill will look up to fellow opener Wriddhiman Saha for providing the brisk start. Saha and southpaw
David Miller
are back among runs but would want to be more consistent. Sai Sudharsan, who bats at number three, is the top run-getter for Titans this season. But the Tamil Nadu batter's 334 runs have come at a strike rate of 128.95.
Titans' bowling has also blown hot and cold so far. The predictable Umesh Yadav has been replaced by Sandeep Warrier (five wickets in three matches) but the Tamil Nadu pacer too has leaked runs.
While leg-spinner
Rashid Khan
has taken eight wickets in nine wickets, he has kept the run scoring at bay by going at 7.44 runs an over in a season in which scores in excess of 200 have been the norm. Noor Ahmad and R Sai Kishore too have impressed.
Kohli, meanwhile, has been supported by Faf Du Plessis, Dinesh Karthik and Rajat Patidar (211 runs). The batting, though, has not found support from the bowlers.
Left-arm pacer Yash Dayal, who is RCB's highest wicket-taker, is 23rd on the list. Pacer Mohammed Siraj has taken five wickets at an economy rate of 9.65.
The inclusion of Will Jacks and Swapnil Singh has provided them with spin-bowling options, and how this bowling line-up fares against Gill and other batters of Titans could very well decide the outcome of this contest.
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