SRH vs GT, IPL 2024: In battle of contrasts, Sunrisers Hyderabad looks to confirm playoffs spot with win against Gujarat Titans

The Sunrisers Hyderabad and Gujarat Titans face-off is a story of contrasts.

One team is on the brink of booking a playoffs berth while the other has already been eliminated. Their different batting approaches is another major aspect that puts SRH and GT on opposite ends of the spectrum.

When these two teams meet here at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium on Thursday, the Pat Cummins-led side will not only look to seal its top-four place, but also avenge the loss it suffered against Shubman Gill’s team earlier in IPL 2024.

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With two matches to go, SRH is just one win away from a playoffs spot due to its +0.406 Net Run Rate (NRR), which is mostly thanks to its top-order, led by Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma.

The Hyderabad-based franchise has scored a boundary every three balls inside the PowerPlay, racking up the highest run rate of 11.61 in the first six overs this season. The opening duo’s outing against Lucknow Super Giants last week, by and large, sums up SRH’s batting this year.

A run rate of 9.25 in the middle-overs, followed by scoring at more than 12 runs an over in the last five overs, gives an idea of how a solid start has helped the rest of the batters pick up from where Head and Abhishek have left off.

In contrast, Titans have the worst run rate – 7.72 – inside the PowerPlay this season. Gujarat’s template of accumulating runs before going big at the death hasn’t worked.

While there have been some creditable individual performances, especially by Sai Sudharsan and Shubman Gill, Gujarat hasn’t performed collectively.

Even though Titans do score more than 11 runs an over during the final flourish, the batters are mostly playing catch up. 

Yet, one thing that the two teams do have in common is their bowling. SRH has conceded 10.12 runs every over – worst this season – while GT has had a middling performance, leaking 9.62 runs per six balls, with the likes Rashid Khan unable to control the scoring rate.