GG vs INC Live Score: Gujarat Giants are all set to lock horns with India Capitals in the Eliminator clash of the Legends League Cricket 2023. Giants were initially the table toppers until the fixture between Manipal Tigers & Urbanisers Hyderabad got washed out sending Giants down at the No 3. As a result, the Giants will now face the fourth-placed India Capitals in the Eliminator match at the Lalabhai Contractor Stadium in Surat.
Coming to India Capitals, they have just won one fixture in the tournament so far & are already out of the knockout stage. This is the dead rubber for the Capitals & they will look ahead to ruin Giants chances of qualification in the knockouts.
GG vs INC TEAMS PREVIEW
Gujarat Giants Preview
The Giants are brimming with confidence as they kick-started their campaign with a loss but then bounced back with three back-to-back wins. However, their fixture against India Capitals in Jammu Kashmir was washed out & as they go up against the Capitals in this Eliminator Clash, it will be the first time these two teams lock horns this season. There comes a setback for the Giants as their key players including the captain sit out in the last fixture against the Super Stars.
In the batting order, former Gujarat Cricketer Abhishek Jhunjhunwala has played a match-winning knock amassing 81 runs off 49 balls. The opening pair of Kevin O Brien and Dhruv Raval delivered at the top order which looks competitive even without Gayle & Kallis. In the middle order, they will need the services of Richard Levi, Chirag Khurana, and Sekkuge Prasanna all of whom are capable of good finishing knocks.
In the lower order, Elton Chigumbura comes in handy with the bat. He amassed an unbeaten 20 runs off 10 balls in their last match with Giants and managed to chase the target of 160 runs against Southern Super Stars. In the bowling attack, Sreesanth will lead the pace attack along with Trent Johnston, and the two will play among the key wicket-takers for Gujarat Giants. Some other big names in the squad include  Monty Panesar and Sulmenn Benn and we reckon Giants should go with at least one of them in this Eliminator match.
Gujarat Giants Predicted Playing XI:
Dhruv Raval (wk), Kevin O Brien (c), Abhishek Jhunjhunwala, Chirag Khurana, Elton Chigumbura, Seekkuge Prasanna, Trent Johnston, S Sreesanth, Sarabjit Ladda, Ishwar Chaudhary, Monty Panesar, Richard Levi
India Capitals Preview
India Capitals are a better team but this season they have failed drastically to deliver as per their expectations. They finished with just one win & a washout in this season though they performed well, particularly with the bat. Their loss against Urbanisers Hyderabad was a closely fought game where the Capitals finished with just 186 runs in the chase of 190 runs. Pietersen and Nurse are the run-scorers in the run chase while Gautam Gambhir and Hashim Amla failed as openers.
However, in their next fixture India Capitals bounced back with a century from Ricardo Powell who opened the innings alongside Gambhir. Kirk Edwards was unbeaten on 45 at number 4 as India Capitals chased down a 164-run target with 7 wickets in hand. That win was the one & only for Gambhir in this season. Though they continued their gleaming form in the batting by amassing 186 runs against Manipal Tigers they were handed a 4-wicket loss.
In addition to Gambhir and Powell at the top others who have stepped up & delivered are Kirk Edwards, Kevin Pietersen, and Ben Dunk in the middle order. These three in the middle order followed by Ashley Nurse in the lower order helped the Capitals to post a massive total on board. But the major concern for the Capitals is their bowling attack. They need to address that if winning & bouncing back is on their agenda list.
That can be a huge factor in orchestrating another setback for the Capitals as they face a strong Giants lineup.
India Capitals Predicted Playing XI:
Gautam Gambhir (c), Ricardo Powell, Kirk Edwards, Ben Dunk (wk), Kevin Pietersen, Ashley Nurse, Bharath Chipli, Rusty Theron, Isuru Udana, KP Appanna, Pravin Tambe, Hamish Bennett
GG vs INC Pitch & Weather Conditions
It is a balanced pitch where both batters & bowlers have flourished with stellar performances. The pitch has something for everyone & it would be a neck-to-neck contest for both the teams. With an advanced pitch, the competition will never be one-sided.
Toss to bowl
The venue doesn’t provide much assistance to teams batting either first or second. But considering the batting strength of both teams along with inconsistency of Capitals bowling attack we think both the skippers will be confident of chasing the target.
GG vs INC Winning Prediction
There is very little to choose between the two teams considering their strength on paper. The key players in India Capitals have been consistent with both bat & bowl but that hasn’t made much difference. As they are lacking on the Points table. On the other hand, the Giants have managed to win their matches without two of their legends & have enough bench strength to carry ahead the momentum without Gayle & Kallis. Overall we think that both the teams are balanced but the Giants will have an edge over fragile looking Capitals.
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