IPL 2022 GT vs LSG Preview - The 2 newbies go head to head

Key match stats GT vs LSG

Pitch Stats – Wankhede Stadium

Average first innings score: 167
Average first innings winning score: 180
Average powerplay score: 45
All-time win % batting 1st vs batting 2nd: 46% / 51%

Team form GT vs LSG
GT – n/a
LSG – n/a
Recent meetings: n/a

GT vs LSG preview

One thing we can be sure of at the conclusion of match 4 is that one of these two new franchises will have won their first game in the history of the IPL.

As an Englishman and primarily a consumer of football and cricket, the whole idea of franchises is still fairly foreign to me. How can you just dream up a club with no history or existing fan base and stick them into a premier sporting competition?

Still, the IPL isn't particularly concerned with such things and it does bring a degree of excitement to see how these new sides will perform in their debut season in the tournament.

Gujarat Titans will be lead by Hardik Pandya who makes an immediate home coming to the Wankhede Stadium, a venue that he graced on many occasions throughout a highly successful career with the Mumbai Indians. This is a big year for him not just in regards his promotion to captain with a new franchise but also as India prepare for the next T20 World Cup later in 2022. Despite their vast cricketing resources, a fast bowling all-rounder is something that the national team sorely misses and a return to form and fitness for Pandya could yet be the catalyst for a successful IPL tournament and World Cup to come.

The man who'll face off against Pandya at the toss, KL Rahul, has fast established himself as one of the premier batsmen in world cricket across all formats. In T20, he seems to draw ere from some fans for being a "stat padder" and batting selfishly but their is nothing within the data that actually suggests this is the case. Instead, it's KL Rahul's incredible consistency that really stands out even when playing for a struggling side like Punjab.

Looking forward again to international cricket, KL Rahul will no doubt see the IPL as a chance to stake his claim to one day lead India at the very least in white ball cricket. His name was certainly in the hat when Kohli stood down but the powers that be opted to go with the more experienced Rohit Sharma. However, Rohit will be 35 next month and therefore isn't likely to be a long-term option posing the question as to who will the next man to fill the vacancy? It could well be a shoot out between DC captain Rishabh Pant and Lucknow's own skipper KL Rahul based largely on their success with their respective franchises.

We saw the opening game last night at the Wankhede with the pitch behaving as expected early on. Umesh Yadav got the ball to nibble about a bit and KKR had CSK in all sorts of trouble. In my mind, this is still a very good track and if a batsman does get his eye in then there are plenty of runs on offer. As the stats above show, you need in the region of 180 to win batting first here and that is very achievable even if team are required to be a little more conservative in the powerplay.

GT vs LSG head to head stats

LSG bowling vs GT batting

Avesh Khan was excellent for Delhi Capitals last year and LSG will be hoping for him to continue his wicket taking exploits this year. Prior to the suspension of the tournament last season and its ultimate relocation to the UAE, DC played their opening 3 matches at the Wankhede with Avesh Khan taking 6 wickets on a surface that offered early movement in much the same way that we saw in the opening game of IPL 2022.

Avesh Khan record at the Wankhede

Meanwhile, Gujarat Titans will be hoping that the talented stroke play of Shubman Gill can provide consistent runs and anchor their innings. I still see Gill as better suited to red ball cricket and believe that he'll soon be established as one of the best Test batsman in the world. However, he comes into this game with a very poor records not only against Avesh Khan who has dismissed him twice in previous occassions (average 12.5, S/R 89.3) but also at the Wankhede in general where he seems to struggle to hit the ball of the square!

Shubman Gill record at the Wankhede

Pre-tournament, LSG would have been hoping to unleash the likes of Mark Wood and Jason Holder on this Wankhede pitch but their injuries and international commitments mean they are unavailable. Instead, Lucknow could opt for Ankit Rajpoot who is entering his 10th IPL season but has generally been used as a bit part player, making just 29 appearances to date. Here in Mumbai though he has a solid record, taking 5 wickets at an average of 27, strike rate of 14.6. He also comes into the IPL off the back of good domestic form for Uttar Pradesh and could be one to watch for those looking for bargain players in their fantasy league.

Hardik Pandya batting record at the Wankhede

Of course we can't talk about head to head battles between Gujrat and Lucknow without mentioning the 2 Pandya brothers who will face off against each other. For so long the 2 of them played alongside each other at this very ground and it's not surprising given the success they enjoyed with MI to find that their respective records at the Wankhede are very strong. Last year, we got to see Sam Curran take down older brother Tom in the IPL. Who will come out on top in the battle of the Pandyas?

Krunal Pandya bowling record at the Wankhede

GT bowling vs LSG batting

If Gujarat have some players in their top order who don't fancy the pacier pitches of the Wankhede then the same can't be said of Lucknow Super Giants who have a potential top 3 that all love playing on this surface.

Batsman	Runs	Average	Strike Rate
KL Rahul	399	79.8	146.2
Q de Kock	294	42.0	135.5
M Pandey	178	44.5	139.1

LSG batting records at the Wankhede

Of course GT have their own quality pace bowlers who'll be relishing the chance to ruin those averages in the form of Lockie Ferguson and Mohammed Shami and if they fail then Gujrat can call upon Rashid Khan whose record against KL Rahul is very impressive.

Rashid Khan vs KL Rahul T20 head to head stats

Ultimately the winner of this match could well be decided by the team that manages the moving ball early on and leaves itself enough wickets through the middle and later part of the innings. Lucknow undoubtedly have the stronger top order while Gujarat how some powerful lower order hitters.

All stats used in this blog are from my own database. Images are my own with the exception of player profiles and background images from the below sources and used under a creative commons license or otherwise royalty free

https://www.iplt20.com/
https://pixabay.com/images/search/cricket%20stadium/
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en