Wednesday’s IPL action will see the sixth take on eighth as Gujarat Titans travel to New Delhi to take on Dehli Capitals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. Both teams will be desperate for a win and looking to build momentum in the second half of the campaign. Have a look at our preview and best bets for this encounter.
Venue: Arun Jaitley Stadium
Betting Preview
Despite a disappointing start to their home campaign, Delhi Capitals have two upcoming matches against Gujarat and a struggling Mumbai side, presenting an opportunity to rejuvenate their season. With only three wins from eight games, Delhi needs a strong finish, winning most of their remaining fixtures to reach the typical playoff threshold of eight victories. Currently, their average score per innings stands at 171, one of the league’s lowest, only surpassing Gujarat’s post-weekend.
Nevertheless, Delhi’s powerplay performance, averaging 61 runs, shows promise. Their recent defeat to Sunrisers Hyderabad highlighted this trend, where newcomer Jake Fraser-McGurk’s rapid 65 off 18 balls helped them to 88/2 before the innings faltered later. David Warner’s form is also a concern, as he heads into these games averaging just 23.85 with a strike rate of 135 this season.
On the other hand, Gujarat has been conservative, averaging a total of only 155 runs, well below the league average of 183. Their cautious approach has seen them losing fewer wickets, at an average of 6.9 per innings. While Shubman Gill leads as their top scorer, his strike rate of 147 is modest compared to other aggressive top-order batters.
Gujarat’s bowling, like their batting, has been lacklustre, securing only 52 wickets so far. However, spinners Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmad have been effective, each maintaining an economy under 7.50 runs per over, providing a solid foundation for Mohit Sharma to take 10 wickets at a costlier rate of 9.18 runs per over.
Delhi Capitals have been struggling at times in the IPL 2024 while GT also have a fluctuating form going into the contest. It will be interesting who comes out on the top as we predict a close contest in Delhi with the hosts just getting the better of the opposition.
Prediction: Delhi Capital to win at 2.05.
Key battle: Following a face-saving 44 against Hyderabad, Rishabh Pant will be raring to go against Gujarat. He has 190 runs at an average of 47.50 against the Titans, but will likely be up against Rashid Khan, who he has handled well, striking 2-97 from 82 balls faced against the Afghan all-rounder in IPL cricket. Khan has six wickets against Delhi with a best of 3-31 and is conceding only 7.26 runs per over this season.
Key Stats
Delhi have lost 73% of home games as pre-match outsiders since the start of 2019, whilst Gujarat have an all-time 5-2 record as favourites at an opposition venue.
The average first innings score at the Arun Jaitley Stadium is 169, though since the start of 2023, it has been a much more healthy 187.
Delhi scored the most powerplay runs in five of their last six matches.
Gujarat did so in just two of their last seven matches.
Sai Sudharsan and Jake Fraser-McGurk top scored for their teams four and three times respectively this season.
David Warner has amassed a score of 109/2 from 78 balls against Mohammed Shami in the IPL.
Best Bets
Best Bet: Delhi Capitals to hit the most sixes at 2.00.
Alternative Bet: Delhi Capitals to hit the most sixes and win the match at 2.90.