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The Gujarat Titans (GT) just seem to always find a way to win in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
During their opening game of IPL 2023 against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), the defending champions were confronted by a variety of issues.
They were without star batter David Miller, who was their second-highest run-scorer last year. Hardik Pandya and Co. also lost new recruit Kane Williamson to a season-ending knee injury in the first innings.
Nevertheless, GT got it done in front of their home crowd in Ahmedabad, with Rahul Tewatia and Rashid Khan remaining unbeaten in yet another successful run-chase.
The Titans will head into their clash against the Delhi Capitals (DC) on Tuesday, April 4, high on both confidence and form. They will also welcome the return of Miller, who has joined the squad after his assignment with South Africa ended.
DC, meanwhile, went down against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in rather tame fashion on Saturday. David Warner and Co. fell short by 50 runs in Lucknow as Mark Wood's five-fer blew them away.
Luckily for the Capitals, they can now call upon an express pacer of their own. The fiery Anrich Nortje is all set to be available for selection to add steam and penetration to a pace attack that looked rather inexperienced against LSG.
Can GT make it two out of two? Or will DC put their first points on the board in IPL 2023?
IPL 2023, DC vs GT Match Prediction: David Warner and Co. seek answers as confident Titans await
Williamson's absence might not be felt that dearly, with Miller slotting into the middle order and Sai Sudharsan showing great composure and skill while batting at No. 3.
Shubman Gill is in excellent form as well, and the Titans have repeatedly managed to pull wins out of their hat in the IPL despite appearing to be a batter or two short.
GT's pace attack is simply lethal. Apart from Alzarri Joseph and Mohammad Shami, they have Josh Little and Yash Dayal to add variety. Hardik Pandya, of course, views himself as a full-time bowler who can complete his quota on any given night.
DC, meanwhile, have a decent bowling attack with quite a few options as well. Their issues lie in the middle order, where there is a Rishabh Pant-sized hole. Sarfaraz Khan is clearly a liability with the gloves on, and it's only a matter of time before he makes a costly mistake.
Nortje's inclusion could further worsen matters for Delhi in the middle order, with Rilee Rossouw likely to find himself without an overseas slot. Manish Pandey could replace the South African batter, but he isn't the most fluent on most days and would add to a congregation of right-handers in the middle.
Delhi's conditions could play into the home side's hands. They have two decent spinners in Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel, and most of GT's middle-order batters have certain weaknesses against quality spin.
The Titans are the definite favorites to come out on top, but it's perhaps time to stick our necks out and predict an upset. The Capitals have what it takes to win, especially if their openers fire.
This might turn out to be a silly prediction, but the outside chance DC have of exploiting the GT batting lineup could manifest itself on Tuesday.
Prediction: DC to win Match 7 of IPL 2023.
