The grand finale of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 will see the new entrants Gujarat Titans (GT) and 2008 champions Rajasthan Royals (RR) crossing swords for the ultimate trophy on Sunday (May 29).
While new entrants GT have a chance to taste the glory in their maiden season, IPL 2008's winner RR will look to replicate their inaugural season's performance in order to clinch trophy after 14 long years.
Meanwhile, former Chennai Super Kings' (CSK) star southpaw Suresh Raina has picked his winners for the IPL 2022. Ahead of the high-intensity final, Raina feels that Titans have a slight edge over RR in the ultimate clash.
Raina added that Titans will be in a better position to dominate the final clash since they have had a good rest of four to five days while RR will be storming into the finals after getting the better of RCB on May 27. On the other hand, the former CSK player stated how RR cannot be taken lightly because of the number of fine players especially Jos Buttler in their mix.
“I think Gujarat Titans will have a slight edge over Rajasthan Royals in the finals because they’ve had a good rest of four, five days and also due to the tempo they’ve been in this season,” said Raina while speaking to Star Sports.
I believe RR cannot be taken lightly: Suresh Raina
“I believe RR cannot be taken lightly because they are looking in sublime form and if Jos Buttler fires for one last time in this season, then it will be a huge bonus for the team. So, it will be an epic clash. Also, the wicket has been brilliant here in Ahmedabad and we’ve seen a lot of strokes from the batters,” he added.
In the last match played between these two sides, GT beat RR by 7 wickets at the Eden Garden in Kolkata on 24 May. There aren’t any surprises for the finals either as the Top 2 sides would be fighting for the crowning jewel.
So far in the tournament, both the teams face each other twice and the results landed in Sanju Samson-led side as on both the occasions Rajasthan defeated Gujarat. In the head-to-head record, GT leads RR by a 2-0 margin.