Big picture: A high-stakes clash
Gujarat Titans (GT) and
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) are in a logjam at the top half of the
IPL 2026 table, with only two points separating the toppers and the sixth-placed team. The winner of the game between GT and SRH in Ahmedabad will nudge ahead of everyone else to the top of the table with 16 points. This will be the first time that GT and SRH will meet this season, and the stakes can’t be higher.
GT’s attack has stymied two hard-hitting batting line-ups, defending champions RCB and PBKS, in their previous two home games, setting up sub-170 chases, which was right up the alley of Shubman Gill, B Sai Sudharsan and Jos Buttler. SRH, meanwhile, have lost each of their three matches against GT in Ahmedabad since IPL 2023.
Kagiso Rabada and Mohammed Siraj keep banging the ball away on a
good length or a hard length through the powerplay. Rashid Khan is back to his best this season – he is the leading wicket-taker between overs seven and 16 with 13 strikes – while Jason Holder has been a strike force across phases, including in the death.
It’s advantage GT, especially in Ahmedabad, but you wouldn’t bet against SRH. Travishek and Ishan Kishan can put GT’s attack off their lengths. Heinrich Klaasen is enjoying his most productive IPL season, and is just six away from 500 runs. They have a point-of-difference bowler in Eshan Malinga and other bowlers with defensive skills who can rally around the Sri Lanka quick.
Form guide: GT on a hot streak
Gujarat Titans: WWWWL (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Sunrisers Hyderabad: WLWWW
Both teams are coming off emphatic wins and are unlikely to tinker with their first XIs.
Gujarat Titans: 1 Shubman Gill (capt), 2 B Sai Sudharsan, 3 Jos Buttler (wk), 4 Washington Sundar, 5 Jason Holder, 6 Nishant Sindhu, 7 Rahul Tewatia, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Arshad Khan, 10 Kagiso Rabada, 11 Mohammed Siraj, 12 R Sai Kishore
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 1 Travis Head, 2 Abhishek Sharma, 3 Ishan Kishan (wk), 4 Heinrich Klaasen, 5 Nitish Kumar Reddy, 6 R Smaran, 7 Salil Arora, 8 Pat Cummins (capt), 9 Shivang Kumar, 10 Harsh Dubey, 11 Eshan Malinga, 12 Sakib Hussain
In the spotlight: Kagiso Rabada and Nitish Kumar Reddy
Kagiso Rabada has made heads turn in this IPL with his impeccable lengths and extreme pace in the powerplay. He has bowled 150kph rockets, often taking the conditions out of the equation. His battle against Travishek could have a significant impact on the result on Tuesday.
Nitish Kumar Reddy 2.0 has provided SRH with the balance that some other teams are still searching for. He is now hitting
speeds close to 140kph, after working with
Steffan Jones, a former county player and current fast-bowling coach, in the lead-up to the IPL. And in the death overs, he has a batting strike rate of 217.02. It’s the second-highest for an Indian batter, behind Tilak Varma, between overs 16 and 20 for a minimum of five innings during this phase.
Pitch and conditions: Win the toss and bat first?
Tuesday’s game is set to be played on pitch no.5, which was previously used
in late April, when Tilak outscored GT with an unbeaten 101. This surface has tended to favour the team batting first in recent years. Six of the last eight completed matches on this track, which includes the T20 World Cup, have been won by the side batting first.
Stats and Trivia: Rashid vs SRH
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