Sanju Samson:
“Tough night today. We did have a very good powerplay to start with. With 120 to defend, that was a bit too much to ask for. They were bowling really good lines and lengths. They kept on taking crucial wickets in the middle overs. You can’t go too in; we have a game in one more night. We have been playing some good cricket. But we have to pull our socks up. We are really hungry to win in the coming week.”
Hardik Pandya:
“I let Rashid handle that business (of dealing with the spinners) with Noor. They speak the same language, and nobody is better than Rashid. I think it’s a very standard field when they are bowling. They are very confident. I have always found Wriddhi as one of the best keepers I have played it. The way he adds value and does the job for us is tremendous. I made some bad judgments and errors in the last game. Today my job was half done by the time Shubman got out. I got a lot of time to think after the last game.”
Rashid Khan is the Player of the Match:
“Nothing different, it’s about making sure you don’t give the signal to and make it easy for the batsman. It has taken a little bit of time to make it perfect. It’s just the line and length for me. I just keep it simple; it was a bad day for me [in the last game]. I bowled a few bad deliveries which were punished. I just went back and talked with the video analyst. I pitched it a little bit fuller. We (Noor and I) speak Pashtun, and that makes it easier. He has been working and asking questions, and that’s the reason for his success. I’m receiving messages and videos of bowlers and youngsters who are so good. Mujeeb, Zahir, and Qais haven’t got the opportunity to play in this league”
The pitch for Friday night’s game had a substantial covering of live grass on Thursday evening as the teams trained, with some drier patches just full of a good length. The strip is just off-center, so one square boundary will be marginally shorter than the other.
Gujarat Titans vs Rajasthan Royals Highlights today, Friday 5-5-2023. 48th Match (N), Indian Premier League 2023, Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur.
Toss: Royals chose to bat.
Gujarat Titans team: 1 Saha, 2 Hardik, 3 Shankar, 4 Manohar, 5 Miller, 6 Tewatia, 7 Rashid, 8 Mohit, 9 Noor, 10 Shami, 11 Little
Rajasthan Royals team: 1 Buttler, 2 Jaiswal, 3 Samson, 4 Padikkal, 5 Jurel, 6 Hetmyer, 7 Ashwin, 8 Boult, 9 Zampa, 10 Sandeep, 11 Chahal
Head to Head In T20’s: 4
Gujarat Titans Won: 3
Rajasthan Royals Won: 1
Form guide
(last five completed Matches, most recent first)
Gujarat Titans LWWWL
Rajasthan Royals LWLLW
Match Timings: 2:00 PM GMT | 7:30 PM Local
Umpires – Saiyed Khalid, Virender Sharma
TV Umpire – Nitin Menon
Match Referee – Javagal Srinath
Reserve Umpire – VM Dhokre
Match number – IPL 2023 – 48th Match
IPL Points Table
Pitch and weather: Since IPL 2018, the average first-innings score at Sawai Man Singh Stadium is 164. Over the same time period, fast bowlers have taken more wickets than spinners (97 vs 64) but spinners have been more economical (7.4 vs 8.6). The weather is set fair for the game after some showers in Jaipur this week.
