Hello and welcome to Sportstar’s LIVE coverage of the IPL 2022 match between Rajasthan Royals and Gujarat Titans at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Thursday.

First sight of spin. Yuzi Chahal to bowl the fourth. Slip in place.

GT 16/2 in 3 overs: Kuldeep Sen to get a crack inside first six. Good, pacy start from Kuldeep, who bowled an excellent last over against Lucknow in the last match. OUT! Vijay Shankar, who replaced Sai Sudharsan, has been caught behind for 2. Hardik Pandya comes to the crease, off the mark with a single off the last ball.

GT 13/1 in 2 overs: Prasidh Krishna with the new ball. OUT! Wade is run out. Gill tries to steal a single but van der Dussen is quick to swoop in from cover and take down the stumps at the non-striker’s end, catching Wade short. Vijay Shankat at 3. Dot to finish. 1 run and a wicket.

GT 12/0 in 1 over: Shubman Gill and Matthew Wade to open the batting. Neesham to take the new ball. Wade on strike. One slip in place. Neesham offers a leg stump full toss and Wade has clipped that away for four. Wade drives the fourth ball through covers for four. Wade makes it three in the over with a rasping cut square of the wicket for four.

TOSS UPDATE: RAJASTHAN HAS WON THE TOSS AND ELECTED TO FIELD FIRST.

Rajasthan Royals (Playing 11): Jos Buttler, Devdutt Padikkal, Sanju Samson(w/c), Rassie van der Dussen, Shimron Hetmyer, Ravichandran Ashwin, Riyan Parag, James Neesham, Kuldeep Sen, Prasidh Krishna, Yuzvendra Chahal

Gujarat Titans (Playing 11): Matthew Wade(w), Shubman Gill, Vijay Shankar, Hardik Pandya(c), David Miller, Abhinav Manohar, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Lockie Ferguson, Mohammed Shami, Yash Dayal

PREVIEW

With six points each from four games, leaders Rajasthan Royals will take on Gujarat Titans in a battle of evenly matched teams at the D.Y. Patil Stadium on Thursday.

While the Royals will come into the match after a good win against Lucknow Super Giants, the Titans suffered their first defeat in the last encounter with Sunrisers Hyderabad.

In the past few years, the middle-order has been a perennial problem for the Royals, and it is an area that the team has worked to get right this year.

The solution has been Shimron Hetmyer, and the West Indian batter has been prolific in all four games with valuable knocks at a handsome strike rate.

Combined with Jos Buttler and Sanju Samson at the top-order, the team’s batting has looked assured, while Yuzvendra Chahal has been the standout bowler in the tournament thus far. He has been well-supported by Ravichandran Ashwin and pacers Trent Boult and Prasidh Krishna, who have been effective.

The Royals cannot be over-reliant on a few batters, and the team will hope Riyan Parag repays the faith after being retained.

The Titans’ batting approach was conservative against the Sunrisers, and they would expect skipper Hardik Pandya to bat more aggressively. The form of overseas players Matthew Wade and David Miller is a concern, and it will be interesting if they get replaced by fresh faces.

WHERE AND WHEN TO WATCH RAJASTHAN ROYALS VS GUJARAT TITANS IPL 2022 live?