Yet another away trip culminated with smiles and cheers, as Gujarat Titans defeated Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens on Saturday. This victory took us to the top of the table. We now return to our iconic home stadium and face the Delhi Capitals. 

Joshua Little returned to the starting XI with a bang in Kolkata, picking up his first Player of the Match award in this tournament. He dismissed the dangerous duo of Venkatesh Iyer and Nitish Rana and gave away only 25 runs in four overs. Noor Ahmad conceded only 21 runs and returned with a brace, while Mohammad Shami picked up three wickets. Shubman Gill, Vijay Shankar and David Miller saw us through in the second innings, continuing our excellent chasing record.

While two of our bowlers are up there in the Purple Cap chase (Shami and Rashid), Shubman Gill leads the run-scoring charts for us with 333 runs at an average of 41.62.

The players are growing from strength to strength after each game, which is a great positive for the coaching staff. Every individual called to action has turned up with a contribution that made a difference and so far, there have been plenty of positives to take forward from all of the eight games. 

Peak into the opponent’s camp

Delhi Capitals had picked up two successive wins after a tough start to their campaign. Their last encounter against Sunrisers Hyderabad, however, broke that streak as they fell nine runs short in a closely-fought match. The Capitals have a strong core of overseas batters like David Warner, Phil Salt and Mitchell Marsh. There is enough quality in this team.   

Titan to watch out for

Mohammad Shami has been in outstanding form with the new ball this season. He has picked up eight wickets in eight matches so far in the field-restricted overs, at a terrific economy of 6.60. His early wickets have played a crucial role in helping the side gain momentum straight away with the ball and with 13 wickets so far in TATA IPL 2023, he is in contention for the Purple Cap as well.  

Key numbers

Mohit Sharma needs two more scalps to complete 100 TATA IPL wickets. 

Rashid Khan is one match away from completing 400 T20 matches. 

Noor Ahmad has picked up eight wickets at an average of 13.10, the best among GT bowlers and the second best in the tournament so far (minimum 10 overs). 

David Miller has scored 442 runs in TATA IPL against Delhi Capitals.

Match details

Gujarat Titans vs Delhi Capitals, Match 44
Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad
7.30 PM