"They are not Gen-Z batters" - Aakash Chopra on GT's batting ahead of IPL 2025 clash vs SRH

Former India player Aakash Chopra has noted that the IPL 2025 clash between the Gujarat Titans (GT) and the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) will be a battle between two contrasting batting approaches. He highlighted that while the GT batters play slightly conservatively, the SRH ones look to take the opposition attack to the cleaners.

GT will host SRH in Match 51 of IPL 2025 in Ahmedabad on Friday, May 2. While a win for the home team will help them join the Mumbai Indians (MI) and the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the top of the standings on 14 points, a victory for the visitors will keep their slim playoff hopes alive.

Previewing the GT-SRH IPL 2025 clash in a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra', the former India opener pointed out that the two sides have disparate batting philosophies, with the Gujarat Titans playing a more traditional form of cricket.

"You see a stark contrast between the two teams. GT's top three are reliable, stable, and bat very consistently. SRH's top three are very explosive and incredible. So it's not a battle between two teams, it's a battle of philosophies. Gujarat have lost one game. It was a minor blip, and they want to emerge from that," Chopra said (7:20).

"It's the tale of two contrasting styles. Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill and Jos Buttler bat properly. All three try to bat the majority of the overs. They are not very flashy and flamboyant. They are not Gen-Z batters, but they are consistent. They say they are running a marathon and not a sprint," he added.

Chopra underlined that the SunRisers Hyderabad look to play ultra-aggressively, an approach that hasn't worked this season.

"Hyderabad, on the other hand, come with a bazooka. They say they have all Rafales, and they move on F-35s. You don't want to stop when you come with that kind of firepower. It happened last year, but it hasn't happened this year," he observed.

Sai Sudharsan (456), Jos Buttler (406) and Shubman Gill (389) are GT's top three run-getters in IPL 2025. Heinrich Klaasen (288), Travis Head (261) and Abhishek Sharma (240) are the only SRH batters to aggregate more than 200 runs this season.

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"The Hyderabad batters could be trapped on that" - Aakash Chopra on potential pitch for GT vs SRH IPL 2025 clash

GT registered a convincing win in their IPL 2025 away game against SRH. [P/C: iplt20.com]

In the same video, Aakash Chopra opined that the Gujarat Titans will likely prepare a sluggish pitch for their IPL 2025 home game against the SunRisers Hyderabad.

"The pitch is deciding the outcomes, especially for Hyderabad. It could be a black soil and slow pitch. The Hyderabad batters could be trapped on that, as happened once at home against GT and in Mumbai against Mumbai. They just couldn't move," he said (9:00).

The cricketer-turned-commentator highlighted that the explosive SRH batters struggle on black-soil pitches.

"It was like you trying to run fast when your leg is stuck in a bog. The Hyderabad batting looks like that when a black-soil pitch is prepared. That's what I am anticipating. The ball will turn, and an extremely batting-friendly pitch will not be prepared," Chopra observed.

The Gujarat Titans beat the SunRisers Hyderabad by seven wickets on a slowish pitch in the reverse fixture in Hyderabad on April 6. They restricted last season's runners-up to 152/8 and achieved the target with 20 deliveries to spare.