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The Gujarat Titans (GT) may have ended the IPL 2022 league stage as table-toppers but Daniel Vettori believes that the Rajasthan Royals (RR) have the edge in Qualifier 1. According to the former New Zealand captain, the spin duo of Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravichandran Ashwin gives RR a slight advantage over GT.
Gujarat and Rajasthan will meet in Qualifier 1 of IPL 2022 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Tuesday, May 24. GT go into the playoff clash having suffered an eight-wicket loss at the hands of the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in their last league match. RR, meanwhile, got the better of the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) by five wickets to confirm a top-two finish.
Previewing the Gujarat-Rajasthan match, Vettori opined that RR’s bowling line-up has a little more quality in comparison to GT’s. Speaking to ESPNcricinfo, he said:
“I think they (both bowling attacks) are pretty well balanced. I love the Ashwin-Chahal combination. I think that gives Rajasthan something pretty special through the middle. So I think Rajasthan are just in front because of those two and Trent Boult. And that’s nothing to take away from the Gujarat bowling line-up. But I think Rajasthan just has the edge.”
Chahal is the leading wicket-taker in IPL 2022, having claimed 26 scalps in 14 matches at an average of 16.53 and an economy rate of 7.67. He is the only bowler to have claimed a hat-trick in this year’s edition so far. Ashwin, on the other hand, has 11 wickets from 14 games at an average of 36.36 and an economy rate of 7.14.
“With Hetmyer coming back for RR, they looked at their full strength” - Daniel Vettori
The New Zealand legend reckons that neither Rajasthan nor Gujarat are likely to change their respective playing XIs from their last match. Asked if the sides must make any modifications to their playing XI's for Qualifier 1, Vettori commented:
“Absolutely not. With Hetmyer coming back for RR, they looked at their full strength in the last game. And Gujarat made some changes in terms of bringing Lockie Ferguson back. I believe they will stick with the same teams.”
Gujarat defeated Rajasthan by 37 runs when the teams met during the IPL 2022 league stage at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on April 14.
