IPL 2024 GT vs DC Preview - Are the Titans about to make their move?

Key match stats

Pitch Stats – Narendra Modi Stadium IPL records

Pitch stats from the 10 most recent IPL matches played at the Narendra Modi Stadium

Team form GT vs DC
GT: WLLWL
DC: WLLWL

Recent meetings: IPL 2023- DC won by 5 runs, GT won by 6 wickets

Weather

General Forecast: Dry and Clear
Chance of dew: Low

Preview GT vs DC

A win in their last outings makes this an important match for Gujarat Titans and Delhi Capitals seasons.

GT currently find themselves on 6 points and a victory here would move them level with 4th placed SRH on 8 points. They also have an appealing run of fixtures to come with a 2nd game against DC, back to back matches against bottom placed RCB and a match versus PBKS making up their next 5 encounters. A minimum of 3 wins from those games would put them in with a good shout of sneaking a play-off place but the Titans might feel that they can aim higher than that, particularly if they can gain some momentum with a run of victories.

The Titans have had a week to contemplate their win against Rajasthan which unsurpisingly came coutsery of a chase. 62% of GT's wins in their IPL history have come batting 2nd and they've won an impressive 73% of matches when chasing.

In fact, Delhi Capitals are one of only a few teams that have managed to stop GT in a run chase in recent times during a very low scoring match here at the Narendra Modi Stadium last season. DC's success in that match was largely down to the effectiveness of their bowlers on this surface at Ahmedabad.

Since the Narendra Modi became one of the most used venues for IPL cricket a couple of years ago, we've consistently seen that line and length pace bowling from those who can utilise more traditional seam movement has been very successful. The likes of Ishant Sharma, Anrich Nortje and Khaleel Ahmed all have the requisite skill sets to trouble GT's top order.

Speaking of top orders, both these sides are still struggling to decide on a top 3. GT brought Matthew Wade in for the game against the Royals for a first match since the start of IPL 2022. Meanwhile, DC opted to give another Aussie, Jake Fraser-McGurk, his IPL debut and his knock of 55 from 35 helped to win them the game.

It would be unfair to say that Fraser-McGurk's innings came out of nowhere. He has been a promising young batsmen for a few years now and made his ODI debut this year, albeit in a weakened side against the West Indies. Still, his reputation is not sufficient enough for even the IPL's official website to get his status correct - he is listed within the Delhi squad as a bowler!

Embarrassing administrative mistakes aside, Fraser-McGurk's innings against LSG was punctuated by some big hitting and then some periods where he really struggled to get going. What he's about to discover is that at the level he's playing at now, teams work out your strengths and weaknesses very quickly so expect GT to come with a plan.

GT vs DC head to head

DC bowling vs GT batting

Gujarat Titans continue to favour a solid start over a spectacular one. They have lost the fewest wickets in the powerplay this season (an average of 1 per match) but are only scoring at 8.1 an over during the first 6. Only RR and PBKS have scored more slowly.

Shubman Gill head to head Khaleel Ahmed

The primary anchor of the GT innings continues to be their captain Shubman Gill and DC will know that getting his wicket early will be massive to their chances of victory. I've commented before about Shubman's brilliant record against left-arm pace which he now averages over 100 against in T20 cricket. However, one man who has dismissed him twice before is Khaleel Ahmed which is an impressive record considering Gill's only been dimissed 4 other times in 110 T20 innings by left-arm pace.

Miler T20 head to head vs Ishant Sharma

Where DC continue to look weak is with their death bowling with their economy rate currently at 13.8 an over from overs 16 to 20. Finishing strongly has been a key part of GT's success these last couple of seasons and there are signs that they are beginning to warm up again in 2024 after a bit of a slow start. It's therefore essential that the Capitals new ball attack makes inroads into this GT line-up while they were boosted by the return from injury of Kuldeep Yadav in the win against LSG.

Bowling strike rates split by spin and pace by IPL venue

If he can continue to take wickets during that middle over phases (he has 6 in 3 appearances so far this season) then it will undoubtedly help DC to not be exposed at the death. However, doing so on this pitch in Ahmedabad is easier said than done. The strike rate for spin bowlers here of a wicket every 28.1 balls bowled is higher than any other IPL venue in common use. That is despite the fact that GT very often play 2 high quality wrist-spinners themselves!

GT bowling vs DC batting

Prithvi Shaw's return to form is a massive boost for a Capitals side whose batting line-up was looking weak at times this season. We know from performances in seasons past that he and Warner can form a very effective partnership at the top of the order and rediscovering that form will be key if DC are to make a charge for the playoffs.

Prithvi Shaw T20 record at the Narendra Modi Stadium

Umesh Yadav is the man primarily charged with taking wickets in the powerplay and he's made a break through in each of GT's last 3 games. One of GT's other primary weapons early on is Rashid Khan who has bowled an over in the powerplay (usually the 6th over) in each IPL 2024 match so far. If he continues that trend then we might finally get to see him bowl against David Warner. The 2 have never faced each other in a competitive T20 match although they presumably know each others games very well from their time at SRH together.

Warner head to head Umesh Yadav

One player we didn't get to see in DC's win over LSG was Tristan Stubbs who has been very impressive during the 2nd half of innings so far this season. That includes 96 runs at the death at a strike rate of 246.2.

Tristan Stubbs head to head Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmed

He's not faced a huge amount of bowling from GTs 2 Afghan spinners in the past but he's not been shy about taking them on when he has. He also has a career T20 strike rate of 169 against wrist spinners which suggests that he'll look to assert himself in this match.

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All stats used in this blog are from my own databases which are freely accessible below
IPL player head to head records
IPL player records by stadium
IPL stadium records.
Images are my own with the exception of player profiles and highlights within GIFs which are not intended to infringe copyright- read full disclaimer. Background images are used under a creative commons license or otherwise royalty free.