Gujarat Titans v Lucknow Super Giants predictions and cricket betting tips

Best bets, predictions and analysis for Gujarat Titans v Lucknow Super Giants in the Indian Premier League on Monday.

Where to watch

Sky Sports Cricket, 3pm Monday

Best bets

KL Rahul top Lucknow runscorer
1pt 5-2 Coral, Ladbrokes

Match preview

The two new franchises in the Indian Premier League go head to head at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium where Gujarat Titans are narrow favourites to make a winning debut against Lucknow Super Giants.

Both teams have had their pre-season plans disrupted as opener Jason Roy pulled out of the Gujarat squad and his England teammate Mark Wood, due to be part of Lucknow's pace-bowling attack, was injured during the Test series in the Caribbean.

As ever in the IPL, money talks and Ishan Kishan, the most expensive signing in this season's player auction, lived up to that billing with 81 not out off 48 balls for Mumbai Indians in their dramatic opening defeat to Delhi Capitals.

Another big-money signing may well follow Kishan's example in Mumbai as Lucknow opener KL Rahul, one of the most prolific runscorers in IPL history, is worth backing to top-score on his Super Giants debut.

Gujarat Titans

Coach Ashish Nehra
Captain Hardik Pandya
Star players Rashid Khan, Mohammed Shami, Shubman Gill, Matthew Wade, Lockie Ferguson

Lucknow Super Giants

Coach Andy Flower
Captain KL Rahul
Star players Krunal Pandya, Deepak Hooda, Quinton de Kock, Evin Lewis, Andrew Tye

Lucknow snapped up Rahul as their captain before February's auction, on a contract that puts him alongside Bangalore's Virat Kohli as the best-paid player in the tournament.

A glance at his recent IPL stats suggest the Super Giants' investment is a shrewd one as Rahul has scored 2,548 runs at an average of 56.6 in the past four seasons.

The classy India opener has made two centuries and 23 fifties in just 55 innings in that time and he has also reached 50 in four of his last five Twenty20 international innings.

Gujarat are captained by India all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who has struggled with injuries during the past year, and Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan is their key bowler.

Matthew Wade, who played a key role in Australia's T20 World Cup triumph in November batting in the middle-order, is set to open with former Kolkata star Shubman Gill and Wade has enjoyed great success at the top of the order for his Big Bash side Hobart Hurricanes.

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