IPL 2023: Why Gujarat Titans have the edge over Delhi Capitals today

Delhi Capitals will have to look far south for inspiration if it hopes to defeat Gujarat Titans and earn some much-needed respect in the IPL 2023 when the two sides meet on Tuesday.

Having suffered a 50-run defeat to Lucknow Super Giants on Saturday, the Capitals will need to do something special to get the better of a side that scored a galvanising five-wicket win over Chennai Super Kings in the tournament opener.

Here are five keys to the match.

Selection dilemma

The arrival of reinforcements from South Africa in the form of Anrich Nortje and Lungi Ngidi will help boost confidence levels for Delhi although it is still unsure if the imposing pacers will take the field on Tuesday.

The pressure of picking up some early wickets will fall on Bangladesh’s Mustafizur Rahman but the overburdened DC think-tank will be hard-pressed to make the right call between Rilee Rossouw and Mitchell Marsh.

In this scenario veteran pacer, Ishant Sharma will need to rise to the occasion and show some muscle alongside Chetan Sakariya and Mukesh Kumar.

Ability to handle raw pace

The Capitals' batters, except for skipper David Warner, have looked a bit threadbare and the talented Aussie, a three-time Orange Cap recipient in the IPL, must find a way to inspire Indian youngsters like Prithvi Shaw and Sarfaraz Khan who struggled against the pace of Mark Wood in the opening match. Only South African Rilee Rossouw offered Warner some support but Delhi will need to find more depth in the batting to be more effective.

Titans by name and actions

Despite losing Kane Williamson who has been ruled out of the tournament due to a knee injury, the defending champion checked all the boxes in their opening game against Chennai.

Key batter Shubman Gill looks to be in rousing form and while skipper Hardik Pandya went early he did send out a message with his aggressive body language.

Abhinav Manohar, David Miller and Sai Sudharsan also add weight when necessary.

Plethora of bowling talent

If Gujarat’s batting looks rock solid, their bowling unit deserves a lot of respect given the diverse skills of Alzarri Joseph, Yash Dayal, Mohammed Shami, and Rashid Khan among others.

Not only are they disciplined and hard to put away, they have the uncanny ability to pick up crucial wickets to break the momentum of the batting side. This was evident in the game against CSK where all three picked up key wickets although they were unable to trouble the in-form Ruturaj Gaikwad.

Chasing history

Gujarat Titans will be aware that only two teams in IPL history have succeeded in defending their title. CSK did it in 2010-211 and MI in 2020-21.

How much will this play on their minds is anyone’s guess but there is no denying that the Titans, who found the success formula last season, is fully focused on repeating the feat.

Tuesday's match