"To beat them, you will have to take on their opening bowlers" - Brad Hogg on how RR can defeat GT in IPL 2022 Qualifier 1

Former Australian bowler Brad Hogg believes that the Rajasthan Royals (RR) top-order will have to take on the Gujarat Titans' (GT) opening bowlers to lay the foundation for a win. The two franchises will kickstart the knockout phase of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

Mohammad Shami has been instrumental for the Gujarat-based franchise with the new ball. He has successfully extracted something off the wicket with consistent pace, scalping 18 wickets in the tournament. He has been well-aided by the likes of Lockie Ferguson and Yash Dayal in the pace bowling unit.

Opining that RR batters will have to force Pandya to turn towards Ferguson and Rashid Khan in the powerplay phase itself, Hogg said on his YouTube channel:

"To beat GT, you will have to take on their opening bowlers. Try to force Pandya to use Rashid Khan and Lockie Ferguson in the powerplay. Otherwise, those two will control the middle overs and that is where GT have really dominated the game."

The franchise opted to rest Ferguson for a couple of games towards the end of the league stage. The upcoming contest at Eden Gardens could see the New Zealand bowler return, where he represented his former franchise Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in a handful of matches in IPL 2019.

GT skipper Hardik Pandya is also an option with the ball despite only bowling 24 overs in 13 matches. Praising the all-rounder for his leadership in the tournament so far, Hogg said:

"GT are led well by Pandya. Ever since knowing that they will make it to the playoffs, he has put them in more difficult situations, made it tougher for them, preparing them for that tough competition at the back end. For me, this is what makes them favorites."

Having shown their prowess while chasing on a number of occasions in the initial stages of the tournament, Pandya took GT out of their comfort zone by deliberatley batting first to get accustomed.

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"They were the best performing teams in the powerplay phase" - Brad Hogg

RR and GT found themselves at the top end of the IPL 2022 points table for the majority of the league stage of the tournament. The presence of stalwarts like Jos Buttler, Trent Boult, Mohammad Shami and Shubman Gill allowed the top two sides to get a dominant start with both bat and ball.

Terming their dominance in the powerplay as the biggest reason behind their success, Hogg said:

"No wonder GT and RR are playing the Qualifier 1. They were the best performing teams in the powerplay phase of every game with both bat and ball. You win that phase, you win 80 percent of your games generally,"

Hardik Pandya and Sanju Samson will play their first playoff matches as captain later tonight. The winner of Qualifier 1 will advance to the final of IPL 2022.