<p>Gujarat Titans will be hoping to cap a dream debut season with the prized crown while Rajasthan Royals will be determined to pay the perfect homage to their greatest star by recapturing glory that has eluded them since the magical 2008 night as the IPL-15 is set to come to a grandstand finish here on Sunday.</p>.<p>For a vast majority of the league, Gujarat have been the standout team with their exhilarating performances. Despite being slammed by some pundits for flooding their middle-order with only finishers and assembling a weak bowling attack in comparison to other franchises, Gujarat have constantly defied the critics. They’ve batted with aggression, bowlers have rallied nicely around Rashid Khan and Mohammed Shami, and have found a hero to bail them out whenever they’ve looked in trouble.</p>.<p>Now they’ll be gearing up for one last show of might and unity in front of their home fans for the first time this season — at the gigantic and reportedly sold-out Narendra Modi Stadium. Whatever Gujarat have done over the last two months won’t matter one bit if they can’t slay a determined and dangerous Rajasthan for a third successive time.</p>.<p>Much of Gujarat hopes will rest on four men — skipper Hardik Pandya, in-form David Miller, ace spinner Rashid Khan and lead pacer Mohammed Shami. The quartet is the core of this side and it has been in fine form, delivering consistently and setting the template for others to emulate.</p>.<p>Pandya, showing fine leadership skills in getting the best out of his players, has been exceptional with the bat and ball. He’s promoted himself to No. 4, donned the role of anchor and finisher with aplomb, shown street-smart skills in making key decisions and has regained the spunk in his bowling too.</p>.<p>Miller, playing in a make-or-break season following years of mediocre performances in the IPL, has rediscovered his touch to leave behind a trail of destruction. Like Pandya, he’s anchored when the situation warranted but exploded the moment it was necessary. Pandya and Miller were the ones who sunk Rajasthan in Qualifier 1 and they’ll be hoping to recreate the same magic.</p>.<p>There are hardly any adjectives left to describe Rashid. The Afghani was slow to start but once he found his mark, he’s been an irresistible force, bamboozling batters with his bag of tricks. Shami has been expensive but has given Gujarat solid starts by picking up early wickets.</p>.<p>Rajasthan, who look more rounded as a team as compared to Gujarat, will be gunning for revenge against their nemesis. They bounced back strongly after the pasting in Qualifier 1, absolutely destroying Royal Challengers Bangalore in Qualifier 2, and in what can be termed as slight advantage, have the knowledge of playing here unlike Gujarat.</p>.<p>The key man for Rajasthan is without a doubt Jos Buttler who has been smashing form. He belted a record-equalling fourth century in a single season against RCB and the Englishman is back to seeing the cricket ball like a football, belting it to all parts of the ground.</p>.<p>Batting looks more of less sorted for Rajasthan with the worry being the sudden dip in form of spinners R Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal. The latter was the primary wicket-taker for Rajasthan but he’s gone wicketless in the last two games and that’s hurting his side. Ashwin too has leaked runs off late and another bad day in the office on Sunday for the duo could mean doomsday for Rajasthan.</p>.<p>Rajasthan will be extra motivated to win the trophy for former captain, coach and mentor Shane Warne but Gujarat will be eyeing a perfect climax.</p>
<p>Gujarat Titans will be hoping to cap a dream debut season with the prized crown while Rajasthan Royals will be determined to pay the perfect homage to their greatest star by recapturing glory that has eluded them since the magical 2008 night as the IPL-15 is set to come to a grandstand finish here on Sunday.</p>.<p>For a vast majority of the league, Gujarat have been the standout team with their exhilarating performances. Despite being slammed by some pundits for flooding their middle-order with only finishers and assembling a weak bowling attack in comparison to other franchises, Gujarat have constantly defied the critics. They’ve batted with aggression, bowlers have rallied nicely around Rashid Khan and Mohammed Shami, and have found a hero to bail them out whenever they’ve looked in trouble.</p>.<p>Now they’ll be gearing up for one last show of might and unity in front of their home fans for the first time this season — at the gigantic and reportedly sold-out Narendra Modi Stadium. Whatever Gujarat have done over the last two months won’t matter one bit if they can’t slay a determined and dangerous Rajasthan for a third successive time.</p>.<p>Much of Gujarat hopes will rest on four men — skipper Hardik Pandya, in-form David Miller, ace spinner Rashid Khan and lead pacer Mohammed Shami. The quartet is the core of this side and it has been in fine form, delivering consistently and setting the template for others to emulate.</p>.<p>Pandya, showing fine leadership skills in getting the best out of his players, has been exceptional with the bat and ball. He’s promoted himself to No. 4, donned the role of anchor and finisher with aplomb, shown street-smart skills in making key decisions and has regained the spunk in his bowling too.</p>.<p>Miller, playing in a make-or-break season following years of mediocre performances in the IPL, has rediscovered his touch to leave behind a trail of destruction. Like Pandya, he’s anchored when the situation warranted but exploded the moment it was necessary. Pandya and Miller were the ones who sunk Rajasthan in Qualifier 1 and they’ll be hoping to recreate the same magic.</p>.<p>There are hardly any adjectives left to describe Rashid. The Afghani was slow to start but once he found his mark, he’s been an irresistible force, bamboozling batters with his bag of tricks. Shami has been expensive but has given Gujarat solid starts by picking up early wickets.</p>.<p>Rajasthan, who look more rounded as a team as compared to Gujarat, will be gunning for revenge against their nemesis. They bounced back strongly after the pasting in Qualifier 1, absolutely destroying Royal Challengers Bangalore in Qualifier 2, and in what can be termed as slight advantage, have the knowledge of playing here unlike Gujarat.</p>.<p>The key man for Rajasthan is without a doubt Jos Buttler who has been smashing form. He belted a record-equalling fourth century in a single season against RCB and the Englishman is back to seeing the cricket ball like a football, belting it to all parts of the ground.</p>.<p>Batting looks more of less sorted for Rajasthan with the worry being the sudden dip in form of spinners R Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal. The latter was the primary wicket-taker for Rajasthan but he’s gone wicketless in the last two games and that’s hurting his side. Ashwin too has leaked runs off late and another bad day in the office on Sunday for the duo could mean doomsday for Rajasthan.</p>.<p>Rajasthan will be extra motivated to win the trophy for former captain, coach and mentor Shane Warne but Gujarat will be eyeing a perfect climax.</p>
