IPL 2022, GT vs LSG: Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants look to seal playoffs spot | Cricket News – Times of India

When IPL 2022 started, little did one expect the newbies of the tournament, Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants, to be perched on top of the table after 11 matches.
Both sides have won eight and lost three with LSG’s superior net run-rate pushing it ahead of the Titans. On Tuesday, a win for either of the two teams will not only propel them to 18 points but also help cement a spot in the playoff stage.

It has been a fairytale run for both teams. The Lucknow management fought tooth and nail to get KL Rahul on board as skipper before the auction in February. They flushed out Rs 17 crore for the dynamic opening bat.
Rahul has returned the faith by not only scoring 451 runs in the tournament so far, including two centuries, but has been astute with his captaincy skills.
Then LSG brought in the experience of Gautam Gambhir as team mentor, and it was evident at the auction how much influence the former India opener had in building the squad. The plethora of allrounders Lucknow picked, or the move to opt for pace in the form of Avesh Khan and Dushmantha Chameera, all had Gambhir’s stamp.

The allrounders – Deepak Hooda, Krunal Pandya, Marcus Stoinis, Jason Holder, Krishnappa Gowtham – have played their role in the team to perfection. Even spotting a talent like Ayush Badoni and bringing him from Delhi to Lucknow or giving left-arm pacer Mohsin Khan an extended run in the team had Gambhir’s fair say in it.
Not to forget, getting Quinton de Kock for a steal at the auction was a good move for Lucknow. Ravi Bishnoi was strategically acquired from Punjab Kings, knowing fully that the leg-spinner flourished under Rahul’s leadership in the previous season.

𝗕𝗵𝗮𝗶-𝘃𝗮𝗹𝗿𝘆 𝟮.𝟬 ab dur nahin… 🤜🤛#LSGvGT #SeasonOfFirsts #AavaDe https://t.co/N7bGyJPC0g
— Gujarat Titans (@gujarat_titans) 1652107938000

Likewise, Gujarat struck a chord and immediately built a fan base when they went for Hardik Pandya to lead their side. They also managed to woo a young and upcoming batsman like Shubman Gill away from Kolkata Knight Riders, but the absolute heist was securing a match-winner like Rashid Khan from Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Former India fast bowler Ashish Nehra was roped in as the head coach and that reflected in the decisions Gujarat took at the auction. They focused on bolstering their bowling department, and got the services of top fast bowlers like Mohammed Shami, Lockie Ferguson and Alzarri Joseph.

Tricks of the trade with the master spinner 😍#SeasonOfFirsts #AavaDe https://t.co/4D84Enk4M9
— Gujarat Titans (@gujarat_titans) 1652096042000

The ‘Iceman’ Rahul Tewatia, who has won Gujarat at least four matches on his own, was another great investment. As was South African David Miller, who has often had to warm the benches since teams have had other ‘big names’ filling up the foreigner quota in the playing XI. Gujarat don’t have that luxury and that has worked for Miller.

Kaptaan Sahab ka balla aawaaz nahi, meethi dhun sunaata hai 🎵#AbApniBaariHai💪#IPL2022 🏆 #bhaukaalmachadenge #lsg… https://t.co/eulKkFXtWF
— Lucknow Super Giants (@LucknowIPL) 1652101934000

Being new teams, Lucknow or Gujarat didn’t have too many choices at the beginning. But they have played their cards brilliantly right from the auction and are showcasing the brand of cricket they want to play. The returns for them have been maximum.

#SuperGiants ft. blood, sweat, and non-stop grind 💪🏼#AbApniBaariHai💪#IPL2022 🏆 #bhaukaalmachadenge #lsg… https://t.co/XibSSVJ1RN
— Lucknow Super Giants (@LucknowIPL) 1652095187000

!(function(f, b, e, v, n, t, s) {
window.TimesApps = window.TimesApps || {};
const { TimesApps } = window;
TimesApps.loadFBEvents = function() {
(function(f, b, e, v, n, t, s) {
if (f.fbq) return;
n = f.fbq = function() {
n.callMethod ? n.callMethod(…arguments) : n.queue.push(arguments);
};
if (!f._fbq) f._fbq = n;
n.push = n;
n.loaded = !0;
n.version = ‘2.0’;
n.queue = [];
t = b.createElement(e);
t.async = !0;
t.src = v;
s = b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];
s.parentNode.insertBefore(t, s);
})(f, b, e, v, n, t, s);
fbq(‘init’, ‘593671331875494’);
fbq(‘track’, ‘PageView’);
};
})(
window,
document,
‘script’,
‘https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js’,
);if(typeof window !== ‘undefined’) {
window.TimesApps = window.TimesApps || {};
const { TimesApps } = window;
TimesApps.loadScriptsOnceAdsReady = () => {
var scripts = [‘https://static.clmbtech.com/ad/commons/js/2658/toi/colombia_v2.js’,
‘https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=AW-877820074’,
‘https://imasdk.googleapis.com/js/sdkloader/ima3.js’,
‘https://tvid.in/sdk/loader.js’,
‘https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/video_comscore_api/version-3.cms’,
‘https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/grxpushnotification_js/minify-1,version-1.cms’,
‘https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#version=v10.0&xfbml=true’,
‘https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/locateservice_js/minify-1,version-12.cms’
];
scripts.forEach(function(url) {
let script = document.createElement(‘script’);
script.type=”text/javascript”;
if(!false && !false && url.indexOf(‘colombia_v2’)!== -1){
script.src = url;
} else if (!false && !false && url.indexOf(‘sdkloader’)!== -1) {
script.src = url;
} else if (url.indexOf(‘colombia_v2’)== -1 && url.indexOf(‘sdkloader’)== -1){
script.src = url;
}
script.async = true;
document.body.appendChild(script);
});
}
}