IPL 2022’s match 40 will see the one-time winners Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) take on the high-flying Gujarat Titans (GT) at the iconic Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on Wednesday evening (April 27). With the league stage in a very crunch phase, with all teams fighting it out to enter the playoffs (sans Mumbai Indians), both the in-form teams will be desperate to not lose momentum.
With this being another reverse fixture in the ongoing season, Hyderabad will have some momentum having beaten Gujarat with ease in their previous face-off (by eight wickets). In their only meeting so far, Kane Williamson-led SRH opted to bowl first at the Dr. DY Patil Stadium, Mumbai on April 11. Despite a fifty from Hardik Pandya and Anubhav Manohar’s chancy 21-ball 35, SRH managed to restrict GT for 162-7. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and T Natarajan’s two wickets each led the show for the 2016 champions.
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In reply, SRH rode on Abhishek Sharma’s 32-ball 42 and Kane Williamson’s 57 not out to take Hyderabad to an easy eight-wicket win with 5 balls to spare. At present, both camps are coming into this encounter on the back of an impressive win in their last match. While Gujarat won a hard-fought match versus Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Hyderabad demolished Bengaluru by 9 wickets after dismissing them for a mere 68.
Match prediction for SRH vs GT clash: While Titans have played only one game at the Wankhede, in their tournament-opener versus Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), Hyderabad will play their first game of the season at this venue. Dew might again be a factor but teams batting first have been able to defend totals in the last five encounters at the Wankhede. Tough to decide on a winner. SRH to complete a double over GT?