IPL 2022, GT vs LSG Highlights: Gujarat Titans overcome tense moments to beat Lucknow Super Giants on debut

Hardik remains tight-lipped on his return to bowling but the Titans fans will be eager to see him in the bowler avatar. He is yet to play any competitive match post last year's T20 World Cup.

Rashid is seven plucks short of 100 IPL wickets and the Afghanistan star can dictate the middle overs. Bishnoi, on the other hand, will look to flourish under new management and make a strong case for this year's T20 World Cup. The youngster was recently a part of India's home T20 assignment against the West Indies and Sri Lanka.

It will also be a battle between two leggies. Superstar Rashid Khan and young Ravi Bishnoi would relish bowling on the Wankhede strip.

Talking about Gujarat's bowling, Mohammed Shami will be leading the pace force. Darshan Nalkande, 23, who was previously a part of the Punjab squad but didn't get a game, could also get a chance to prove his mettle. In 22 T20s since 2019, he's plucked 43 wickets at 10.56 strike rate.

"KL Rahul and Quinton de Kock's right hand and left hand combination makes a devastating opening pair and they can get the team off to a flying start," said legendary Sunil Gavaskar on Star Sports.

Lucknow have Krunal Pandya and Deepak Hooda to conceal any batting flaws towards the end. On the bowling front, they have young leggie Ravi Bishnoi and pacer Avesh Khan. They also have Manan Vohra, Shahbaz Nadeem and K Gothwam as experienced Indian picks.

Lucknow have got reliability in Manish Pandey, who can harbour the innings and Evin Lewis, who can chip in with some fireworks. Lewis, primarily an opener, could be slotted at the No. 3 or 4 spot if Rahul and de Kock start the innings.

Lucknow will be without their key overseas players today. They lost England's Mark Wood due to injury and Andrew Tye was named as his replacement. But the Australian will miss the opener owing to quarantine rules.

Three other foreign players -- Marcus Stoinis, Jason Holder and Kyle Mayers -- are likely to join the squad next week owing to national duties.

Lucknow have also got a strong top-order pack in skipper Rahul, Quinton de Kock and Evin Lewis. Rahul last year became the first Indian to score 500-plus runs in four consecutive IPL seasons.

Shubman Gill has got enormous responsibility on his shoulders but the youngster remains one of the most promising openers in the T20 league. With the experience of 58 IPL games, Gill comes with the tag of being a powerplay specialist. He's got 543 runs in first six overs since 2020.

Another key player for Gujarat is David Miller, who has even got the experience of captaining an IPL side. The South African has previously captained Punjab in six games… and he's also got the ability to shift gears at the death.

As the Titans haven't got many specialist batters in their weaponry, they would want their wide catalogue of all-rounders to deliver. A lot rests on skipper Hardik, Rahul Tewatia and Vijay Shankar if the top-order falters today.

With Jason Roy out of the competition, Gujarat could open with Shubman Gill and Afghanistan batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who is also a wicketkeeper. The Titans also have Wriddhiman Saha and Matthew Wade to keep the wickets.

KL Rahul(c), Quinton de Kock(w), Manish Pandey, Deepak Hooda, Manan Vohra, Krunal Pandya, Ankit Rajpoot, Krishnappa Gowtham, Ravi Bishnoi, Dushmantha Chameera, Avesh Khan, Shahbaz Nadeem, Evin Lewis, Mohsin Khan, Ayush Badoni, Karan Sharma, Mayank Yadav

Shubman Gill, Matthew Wade(w), Wriddhiman Saha, Abhinav Manohar, David Miller, Hardik Pandya(c), Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Lockie Ferguson, Mohammed Shami, Pradeep Sangwan, Varun Aaron, Jayant Yadav, Vijay Shankar, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Darshan Nalkande, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Dominic Drakes, Sai Sudharsan, Yash Dayal, Noor Ahmad

Asked whether he would bowl again, Hardik had recently said that it would be a surprise. "It would be a surprise, so let it be a surprise," he had said during the jersey launch of Gujarat Titans.

Hardik was fast-tracked into the Indian limited-overs side after a splendid season with Mumbai Indians back in 2015. So far, he's got 1476 runs in 92 IPL matches and 42 wickets as well.

Hardik's last captaincy stint was with India A when he led the side in a first-class game against Australia and the result was drawn. He would eye a winning start today to justify the faith of team management that has splurged ₹15 crore on him as a pre-auction pick.

Hardik has been battling fitness concerns ever since injuring his back in 2019. The GT skipper has said that he's still a "work in progress". He is set to embark on a new journey in the IPL that had started with Mumbai Indians back in 2015.

Hardik may haven't captained an IPL team before but the Baroda all-rounder has plenty of experience playing at the Wankhede. The Titans would heavily rely on him today. It remains to be seen whether the captain chips in with some overs as well.

While Gujarat, owned by CVC Capital, have all-rounder Hardik Pandya in the leadership role, Lucknow Super Giants, backed by Indian tycoon Sanjiv Goenka, have appointed KL Rahul as their captain.

Hello and welcome to the live coverage of the fourth game of IPL 2022 between Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants. It's a clash between two new entrants, who made the IPL jamboree a ten-team affair for the first time since 2011. The game will be played at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.