Gujarat vs Delhi player battles: Shardul Thakur hopes to better his record against Hardik Pandya

A confident Team Delhi take on the newly formed Team Gujarat in match 10 of the Indian T20 League 2022 at Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium on Saturday, April 2. The match will start at 7:30 PM IST.

Both Delhi and Gujarat enter Saturday’s match on the back of impressive wins over Mumbai and Lucknow, respectively. 

The Rishabh Pant-led side is reeling from the unavailability of David Warner and Mitchell Marsh but will gain the much-needed strength with the likely return of Lungi Ngidi, Mustafizur Rahman and Sarfaraz Khan.

Gujarat, on the other hand, showed great promise in their tournament, but in Delhi, the team faces a seasoned opponent with a strong batting lineup.

Delhi vs Gujarat key player battles

Hardik Pandya vs Shardul Thakur

Gujarat captain Hardik Pandya played an important role in his side’s five-wicket win over Lucknow and is most likely to repeat the feat against Delhi on Saturday since he enjoys a great record against most of Delhi’s current list of bowlers. 

Among all, a certain Shardul Thakur has been his favourite victim, having hit the Indian bowler for 22 runs off just nine balls in five innings.

Rishabh Pant vs Rashid Khan

Delhi captain Rishabh Pant will hope to return to his usual form after failing to score runs against Mumbai. Like it’s been with Hardik Pandya, Pant has a great record against the Gujarat roster and it is Rashid Khan against whom he has been rather average.

The two have squared off in as many as nine innings in the past, with the batter scoring 77 runs in 68 deliveries. The Afghan leggie has dismissed Pant on two occasions.

Prithvi Shaw vs Lockie Ferguson

Delhi batter Prithvi Shaw hit four boundaries and two sixes against Mumbai. On the other hand, Lockie Ferguson went wicketless, but the Kiwi pacer did manage to keep his economy under six. 

Come Saturday, expect the former to exploit Ferguson’s frailties since he has already scored 36 runs in 20 balls in three innings against the seamer. In return, the bowler has only dismissed Shaw once.

Featured photo: AFP / Noah Seelam