GT seek home comforts as buoyant RR await

Rajasthan Royals have entered a new era - new ownership, new coach, new captain - and amid all the novelty, they want to adopt a new style of play. Smart cricket is what Riyan Parag terms it to the world, one that relies on assessing conditions well and adapting to them.

Parag is in his seventh season with the franchise now, and has worked for a long time with Kumar Sangakkara within the setup to understand what hasn't worked for the team over the years. Their fresh approach was on display in the most glorious fashion in their tournament opener in Guwahati, a venue where they will play three of their marquee league matches. They outbowled and outbatted Chennai Super Kings, keeping a 47-ball separation between the two.

Unlike Guwahati - which serves as their second home ground - they will be visiting Ahmedabad only once this season. It's a city where Gujarat Titans' top-order have marked their authority, and asserted their dominance. Not only do they all average above 50 at the Narendra Modi Stadium, but also strike at over 155.

And when their batting didn't quite click against Punjab Kings in their opening game, their bowling attack announced that they were ready for the season, and willing to take on the extra load to make the competition stiff for the opposition.

In their own den, Titans know the perfect blueprint; Royals would be seeking that. By the time they take the field on Saturday evening, they would hope to have assessed the conditions, and be ready to adapt to the smartest brand of their cricket.

When: Saturday, April 4 at 7:30 PM IST

Where: Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad

What to expect: The average first innings score in Ahmedabad was 215 in last season's IPL, and Saturday's contest is expected to be yet another run-fest. However, unlike most other venues, there was an advantage for teams batting first. Teams that opted to bat, won seven out of nine games at the venue last season.

Head to Head:Gujarat Titans have a 6-2 lead over Rajasthan Royals, and have dominated them even at the Narendra Modi Stadium, holding a 2-1 advantage.

Team Watch

Gujarat Titans

Injuries/Unavailability:No injuries have been reported.

Tactics & Match-ups: 52 per cent of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's runs in IPL have come in the mid-wicket and mid-on region, and 20 of his 29 sixes have been hit in these two zones. Expect the GT pacers to test the hard-hitting southpaw outside the off stump.

Probable XII:Shubman Gill (c), Sai Sudharsan, Jos Buttler (wk), Washington Sundar, Glenn Phillips, Shahrukh Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Kagiso Rabada/Jason Holder, Ashok Sharma, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna

Rajasthan Royals

Injuries/Unavailability: All players are fit and available for selection

Tactics & Matchups:Jofra Archer has enjoyed an upper-hand in contests against Shubman Gill, dismissing the Titans skipper thrice in a face-off of 19 balls, conceding only 16 runs in return. He might be the key in the Powerplay again.

Probable XII:Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Riyan Parag (c), Shimron Hetmyer, Donovan Ferreira, Ravindra Jadeja, Jofra Archer, Ravi Bishnoi, Sandeep Sharma, Nandre Burger, Brijesh Sharma

Did you know?

In the seven games of the recently-concluded 2026 T20 World Cup played in Ahmedabad, the average first innings total was 198 - the highest among all the eight venues of the competition

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has hit 29 sixes in just eight IPL innings, which is one six every 4.8 balls

Each of Titans' top three average 50+ and strike at 150+ in T20s in Ahmedabad

What they said:

"He loves to bat. I've told the coaches that he gets as much batting as he wants, and he goes and does some things like that (15-ball half-century against CSK). Me and Dhruv, when we were sitting there till the fourth over, we were just in awe. Like, what is happening? How is he doing this? I'm really happy to have him in my team" - Riyan Parag, Rajasthan Royals skipper, on Vaibhav Sooryavanshi

"Ashok (Sharma) works hard on the game, he's a good find for us. He bowled pretty well up front and in the back, he's definitely someone if he keeps playing more matches and keeps getting more experience, he'll be very valuable for us. He's someone who works very hard on his game and is a pretty good fielder for us. I met him during the camp a couple of months ago and I was very impressed by the way he was bowling with the new ball as well. Hopefully, he'll get a chance in some of the matches to show some of his skills with the new ball" - Shubman Gill, Gujarat Titans skipper, on Ashok Sharma