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The first qualifier of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 will be played at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Tuesday, May 24, between the Gujarat Titans (GT) and the Rajasthan Royals (RR). Gujarat and Rajasthan finished as the top two IPL teams at the end of the league stage. While GT were table-toppers with 20 points, RR finished with 18.
The loser of the contest will get a second chance to push for a place in the IPL 2022 final in Qualifier 2 but both Gujarat and Rajasthan will be keen to confirm their spot in the summit clash by clinching Tuesday’s playoff encounter.
When the two sides met in the league stage of the tournament, Gujarat got the better of Rajasthan by 37 runs at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai. Batting first, GT posted an impressive 192 for four on the board before restricting Rajasthan to 155 for nine.
IPL 2022 Playoffs, GT vs RR: The pitch advantage
The league-stage performance will count for little when Gujarat and Rajasthan lock horns in Qualifier 1 on Tuesday. The pitch, though, could play a part in determining which way the contest goes.
Historically, the Eden Gardens surface offers a bit to everyone. While batters enjoy good success over here, there is help for pacers early on while spinners come into play as the match progresses. The average first-innings score in IPL matches at the venue is 160, while batting second is 146.
The pace face-off
Looking at the fast bowling department of the two sides that will feature in IPL 2022 Qualifier 1, Rajasthan have Trent Boult and Prasidh Krishna, both of whom are capable of taking advantage of any early nip there will be on the surface.
Some rain is expected on Tuesday and, if there is any moisture on the pitch, Boult in particular could become that much more dangerous. The New Zealand speedster is not as good at the death, but Krishna does a decent job at both the start and the end.
Gujarat have the services of Mohammad Shami, who has been exceptional in his first spell in most of the games he has played. If he makes early use of the wicket, he can wreak havoc. Unlike Rajasthan, though, the Titans have failed to build pressure from both ends because Shami has not had a stable pace bowling partner. Skipper Hardik Pandya has opened the bowling in the last couple of games, but hasn’t made a great impact.
RR’s spin twins vs GT’s spin wizard
As mentioned earlier, there is some assistance expected for the spinners as the match progresses. Three quality slow bowlers will be in action on Tuesday - Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravichandran Ashwin (RR) and Rashid Khan (GT). Rajasthan have a slight advantage here as well since Chahal and Ashwin complement each other in wonderful fashion. While one picks up wickets, the other keeps things extremely tight. As a result, the pressure is maintained from both ends.
In Gujarat’s case, Rashid Khan is the lone warrior in the spin department. Of course, he is a high-quality bowler who can single-handedly alter the course of a match. However, if he has an off-day, which is the rarest of rare occurrences, GT can find themselves in a spot of bother.
You can find the full IPL match list here.
The challenge for batters
Traditionally, batters have found it a bit difficult at the start due to the early help on offer for bowlers. Things could get trickier given the weather conditions and the forecast for rain.
If the batters have to play themselves in for the first few overs, GT have a slight advantage here as Wriddhiman Saha and Shubman Gill are two openers who can play in two different gears. They have the ability to break free once they get their eye in.
In contrast, Jos Buttler and Yashasvi Jaiswal have played some very good knocks for RR during the course of IPL 2022. However, both are aggressive strokemakers and can get frustrated if they don’t get the early boundaries.
Buttler does have a lot of experience and could alter his game but it might be difficult for Jaiswal, who loves to keep his aggressive rhythm going.
