Saurashtra vs Gujarat, Ranji Trophy Elite, Today Match Prediction

SRT vs GRT Match Prediction & Analysis

Saurashtra will be facing Gujarat in the quarter-final of Ranji Trophy Elite 2024-25 at the Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot. Both sides are in great form coming into this match with back-to-back wins.

Saurashtra have won 2 and lost 1 match at this venue. Their last game here was against Assam, which they won by an innings and 144 runs. Cheteshwar Pujara scored 99 runs at number 3 while the opener Harvik Desai scored 130, marking his 3rd 90+ score in the last 3 matches.

Gujarat have been exceptional with the ball lately. They chased down a 145-run target in the last match with 9 wickets in hand. And before that, they won by an innings and 38 runs after they bowled out Uttarakhand for 111 runs in the first innings of the match.

Siddharth Desai, Vishal Jayswal, and skipper Chintan Gaja are the key wicket-takers to watch out for in the Gujarat bowling attack.

There is a lot of firepower in both lineups with great depth in the batting order. It will be a closely fought quarter-final between two of the best teams in this tournament.

TEAMS PREVIEW

Saurashtra Preview

Saurashtra are in fine touch with the bat. Most of their top 4 batters are scoring consistently. They faced a tough challenge against Delhi in one of their recent outings but a brilliant bowling spell from Ravindra Jadeja helped them get ahead in the Test.

Jadeja will be a key player to watch out for in this lineup. He comes much lower in the batting order, at times even after Dharmendersinh Jadeja. That just shows the batting depth of this side.

They’ve got Prerak Mankad, Samar Gajjar, and Arpit Vasavada in the lower middle order capable of building partnerships and leading the team to a big total.

Harvik Desai, Chirag Jani, and Cheteshwar Pujara are the key in-form players for Saurashtra in the top 4. Desai has been consistent and is in sublime form. Pujara brings in plenty of experience and has been playing domestic cricket in India and England consistently.

We think Saurashtra should choose between DA Jadeja and Ravindra Jadeja for the two are similar in of bowling. DA Jadeja picked 9 wickets in the last Test at this venue against Assam.

Skipper Jaydev Unadkat will lead the pace attack himself. Spinners are crucial at this venue and have been at the core of Saurashtra’s bowling attack. Yuvrajsinh Dodiya, an off-break bowler, is another spinner to watch out for in this squad.

Saurashtra Predicted Playing XI:

Harvik Desai (wk), Chirag Jani, Cheteshwar Pujara, Sheldon Jackson, Ravindra Jadeja, Arpit Vasavada, Prerak Mankad, Sammar Gajjar, Dharmendrasinh Jadeja, Jaydev Unadkat (c), Yuvrajsinh Dodiya

Gujarat Preview

Two of the top 3 batsmen scored a fifty each for Gujarat in their successful run chase against Himachal Pradesh in their last match. That is great news for Gujarat coming into the knockout stage.

Their batting performances haven’t been so consistent and it is the bowling attack that has been the driving force behind their unbeaten run. In their match against Vidarbha, Gujarat were 5 down 95 runs batting first.

Vishal Jayswal scored a hundred at number 7, while skipper Chintan Gaja was unbeaten on 86 runs at number 8. These two, along with a fifty from opener Priyank Panchal, helped Gujarat cross the 300-run mark.

The next couple of matches saw others like Urvil Patel, Manan Hingrajia, and Jaymeet Patel find their form and score big to lead Gujarat to competitive totals.

Chintan Gaja should be confident in his batters after the recent comeback. Gujarat have also got handy spinners who can make the most of the conditions in Rajkot.

Siddharth Desain and Vishal Jayswal are the two left-arm orthodox bowlers in this squad while skipper Gaja and Arzan Nagwaswalla are the key medium pacers to watch out for.

Gujarat Predicted Playing XI:

Prashant Chopra, Ankit Kalsi, Apporav Walia, Shubham Arora, Rishi Dhawan (c), Innesh Mahajan (wk), Mukul Negi, Mayank Dagar, Akash Vasisht, Vinay Galetiya, Ankush Bedi

Weather Conditions

It will be partly cloudy with a high of 33 degrees Celsius in Rajkot on Day 1 of the Test. However, the remaining 3 days will have clear and sunny weather with no signs of rain.

SRT vs GRT Pitch Report

While it is considered as a batting paradise, the pitch at Niranjan Shah Stadium also offers help for the spinners as the match progresses. If the batting team fails to capitalize on Day 1, they will be in big trouble as they won’t have as much of a chance to bounce back in their second innings after the pitch starts turning a bit.

The average 1st innings score in the last 4 Test matches played here is 370 runs. We reckon anything above 400 will be a brilliant 1st innings total and put the team ahead in the contest.

Toss: To Bat

Teams batting first have won two of the four matches played here in the Ranji Trophy Elite 2024-25 season. One of the four matches ended in a draw. Chasing can be quite a tough challenge on this surface on Day 4 and we reckon it is better to defend a total at this venue with a strong bowling attack.