After 25 games into the IPL 2025 season, the top-four run-getters are from Gujarat Giants (GT) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) — the two teams that are set to face off in what promises an enticing contest between the top-heavy batting sides in sapping Lucknow heat on Saturday afternoon.
To put things into perspective, that list doesn’t even have Shubman Gill (148 runs) in it. In fact, Sai Sudharsan (273) and Jos Buttler (203) has done bulk of the heavylifting at the top order. As a result, it has unburdened their middle order as at least one of Gill, Sudharsan or Buttler have scored a fifty in each of their five games so far.
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Similarly for LSG, Nicholas Pooran has been leading the batting charts with 288 runs so far, and the West Indian has received great assistance from the chance opening pair of Aiden Markram (144) and Mitchell Marsh (265), thus hiding the consistent failures of their skipper and this season’s most expensive player Rishabh Pant, yet to justify the Rs 27 crore price tag.
Going by recent form, both teams are relatively equally placed with Gujarat Titans recording four wins on the trot, while the Lucknow franchise have won two of their last three matches. However, a superior net-run rate separates the two teams in the pecking order, with the Titans sitting atop the table with eight points and a NRR of 1.413 while LSG are at fifth with six points and a NRR of 0.078.
Heading into Saturday’s contest, both top-heavy batting sides will be tested by an equally potent bowling attack. The LSG top order will be up against a crafty Mohammed Siraj, who has rediscovered his form after being ignored from the Champions Trophy squad, and has taken 10 wickets from five outings so far.
Siraj’s ability to bowl the conventional Test-match length first up with movement off the surface has made it difficult for top-order batters to get off him easily in the powerplay. Hitting Siraj through the line during the first six will certainly be a challenger for the in-form trio of Pooran and the opening combo of Markram and Marsh.
Siraj has managed to get great support from an improved Prasidh Krishna, who has clinched eight wickets, and the spin department comprising the likes of Sai Kishore and Rashid Khan. Kishore, with 10 wickets has been effective in the middle overs, Rashid looked good against Rajasthan Royals the other night and if he finds his rhythm, Titans would be unstoppable.
On the other hand, the GT top order will have to negotiate with the accuracy of Shardul Thakur, whose nine wickets from five games is an answer to his critics that wrote him down after going unsold in the IPL 2025 auction. Along with Shardul, the likes of Shubman, Sudharsan and Buttler will also have to find a way to escape the guile of young mystery spinner Digvesh Rathi.
Squads:
Gujarat Titans: B Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (Captain), Jos Buttler (wk), Shahrukh Khan, Sherfane Rutherford, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Mohammad Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Ishant Sharma, Washington Sundar, Glenn Phillips, Anuj Rawat, Mahipal Lomror, Arshad Khan, Jayant Yadav, Nishant Sindhu, Kulwant Khejroliya, Gerald Coetzee, Manav Suthar, Kumar Kushagra, Gurnoor Brar, Karim Janat.
Lucknow Super Giants: Lucknow Super Giants: Rishabh Pant (c&wk), David Miller, Aiden Markram, Aryan Juyal (wk), Himmat Singh, Matthew Breetzke, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Mitchell Marsh, Abdul Samad, Shahbaz Ahmed, Yuvraj Chaudhary, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Arshin Kulkarni, Ayush Badoni, Shardul Thakur, Avesh Khan, Akash Deep, Manimaran Siddharth, Digvesh Rathi, Akash Singh, Shamar Joseph, Prince Yadav, Mayank Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi.
