IPL 2022 GT vs SRH Preview - Top of the table clash

Key match stats GT vs SRH

Pitch Stats – Wankhede Stadium

Average first innings score: 167
Average first innings winning score: 186
Average powerplay score: 44
Win % batting 1st vs batting 2nd: 50% / 50%

Team form GT vs SRH
GT – WWWLW
SRH – WWWWW
Recent meetings: SRH won by 8 wickets

GT vs SRH Preview

What an opportunity for both these teams to all but get themselves into the playoffs at this relatively early stage of the season.

For GT, a win would take them 4 points clear at the top, the kind of breathing room that no other side in a packed 10 team league has enjoyed so far this season. While for SRH their incredible turn around could stretch as far as 6 wins in a row.

Sunrisers of course have the edge in as far as their victory the last time these 2 teams met in a match that has since served as a blue print for the way both sides have played for the remainder of the season.

In that game, Gujarat once again struggled at the top of the order before rallying through the middle period of the game before SRH did well to contain their big hitters and limit GT to a chaseable score. When it came their turn to bat, SRH made a solid start before their own power hitters came in and finished the job.

Of course Sunrisers have been helped along the way by the incredible fact that Kane Williamson has won 7 straight tosses in a row. With luck like that perhaps the Kiwi skipper should quit playing cricket and just start picking lottery numbers on a weekly basis - the odds of winning 8 straight coin tosses are 1 in 256!

As alluded to in my last preview of SRH, that does still raise the question as to how his side will fair if either they lose the toss or win it and opt to bat first (they've batted 2nd in every match so far).

At the Wankhede, batting first is definitely a consideration for which ever side does win the toss, with the last 5 matches won by the side setting a score.

In fact, given Sunrisers' method of building an innings with a generally slower start (their run rate in the powerplay in IPL 2022 is the lowest in the league) then perhaps batting first at the Wankhede where scoring has naturally been slower in the first part of games would actually suit them.

Run rate at the Wankhede Stadium this season in first and last 10 overs of matches

By contrast, Gujarat are still struggling to find the personnel and consistency at the top of the order. So far they've been bailed out by the individual performances of some of their middle and lower order but at some point those faltering starts will cost them.

GT vs SRH head to head

SRH bowling vs GT batting

This match will see the 2 teams with the most effective powerplay bowling attacks go head to head.

Sunrisers seamers were rampant in their previous match against RCB and a lot of credit has to go not just to their bowlers for getting their line and length right but also to Kane Williamson for attacking in the manner he did. How often in T20 cricket do you see 2 slips in at the start of the game? Not very! But in having them in, SRH claimed a couple of early wickets and never looked back.

Bhuvi vs Shubman Gill T20 head to head

Shubman Gill and Saha's first job then will be to repel that opening burst here but as well as not having a favourable head to head against Bhuvi, at least for Shubman Gill, his previous visits to the Wankhede have not ended well. Conversely, Saha who showed a little more stickability in GT's win over KKR has a good record here in previous visits.

Shubman Gill and Saha T20 career records at the Wankhede

The question then for GT is that if SRH do break through early on, does Hardik Pandya continue at 3? He did a fantastic job of anchoring the innings against KKR but we are yet to really see an explosive knock from the former Mumbai man who will know this pitch and the dimensions of the ground very well.

It's a tricky balancing act! Last night's game saw PBKS get it wrong by holding Livingstone back for too long while wanting to protect him from the new ball. If GT get it right and Pandya or any of their big hitters come off, then watch out!

Matches	Wickets to Spin
First 4 games played	10
Last 5 games played	19

Wickets to spin at the Wankhede Stadium in IPL 2022

Also don't underestimate the role that spin will play here at the Wankhede. The pitches over the last couple of games have been a little drier and the ball is definitely beginning to grip more than it did in the early games this season.

In that regard, SRH will have to consider whether to recall Washington Sundar following his finger injury. The off-spinner has proved effective at the Wankhede in the past.

Washington Sundar career T20 stats at the Wankhede

GT bowling vs SRH batting

Mohammed Shami has been arguably the best and most consistent fast bowler of IPL 2022. He leads the wicket taking stakes as far as the powerplay is concerned (6 wickets in IPL 2022) and then comes back during the death to offer his captain fantastic control (economy of 7.7).

His head to head vs Kane Williamson today will be absolutely crucial to the outcome of this game at a venue where he averages 17 with the ball across his T20 career.

Mohammed Shami vs Williamson T20 head to head

I highlighted the head to head match-up between Pooran and Rashid Khan in my last preview between these 2 sides and it will prove crucial again here today.

Rashid has been incredibly economical in previous matches at the Wankhede even by his standards and particularly with the relatively small boundaries at this stadium, those stats become even more impressive.

Rashid Khan T20 career stats at the Wankhede

As we've noted above, limiting the charge of batting sides in the 2nd half of the innings could prove crucial to the outcome of this match and in Rashid Khan, Gujarat appear to have the bowler perfectly suited to doing just that.

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