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After a remarkable season of T20 cricket, it is now time to gear up for the Indian Premier League final. Two teams that had finished at the top of the table in the league stage- Gujarat and Rajasthan- are the finalists and are on the verge of lifting the trophy.
While Gujarat are playing their first IPL and would want to claim the title after a near-perfect season that saw them become the first team to reach the Playoffs and then the final, Rajasthan are the inaugural champions and have only made it to their second final post that victory in 2008.
Ahead of this winners take all face-off at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, here is a stat-based prediction of which way the match could go and who have their noses ahead before the first ball is bowled.
1. Toss Prediction
Rajasthan have had a horrible record with the tosses in IPL 2022. In fact, their skipper Sanju Samson has lost 13 out of the 16 tosses so far this season. Going by this trend, Gujarat have a higher probability of winning the toss as they have won 10 of the 15 tosses in the season. So predicting Gujarat to win this toss before the final.
2. Win Possibility
Since this is the first season for this Gujarat franchise, the head-to-head record in this season will be a factor to make the prediction. The two teams have met each other twice this season and on both occasions, Gujarat have registered victory. While the Hardik Pandya-led side beat Rajasthan by 37 runs during their league stage encounter, they won by 7 wickets in Qualifier 1 to secure a place in the final. Even in the league stage ranking, Gujarat were better placed than Rajasthan and while it may have little significance for a knock-out game, it certainly shows that Gujarat have been the more consistent team.
Moreover, the fixture is set to be staged in Ahmedabad- the home stadium of this Gujarat franchise who haven't played a match there yet and their first game is the final itself where there will be a tremendous support for them which might be further motivation for Gujarat to come out on top.
3. Team of the Day
The Team of the Day is Gujarat who have dominated Rajasthan in their meetings so far and will be well-rested before the final, having played their last match on May 24.
4. Powerplay Score
In the only match that has been played here in IPL 2022 so far, Bangalore made 46 in the first six overs while Rajasthan ended up scoring 67 which implies an average powerplay score of 56.5 in 2 innings. For Rajasthan, both Yashasvi Jaiswal and Jos Buttler came with a refreshing approach to make the best use of powerplay and they will look to breach the 50-run mark inside the powerplay. Gujarat, could be a bit more reserved, setting things up for the big hitters down the order and might end up with less than 50.
5. Average first innings and second innings score
157 was what Bangalore made in the first innings in Qualifier 2. However, that was chased down with 11 balls to spare with Buttler's six ensuring the Men in Pink reach past that total and end up 161. Going by these scores and assuming Bangalore were a few runs short in the last match, this could well be a 180 game.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the author’s point of view. They neither reflect the opinion of SportsTiger nor advise anyone to make any prediction based on this. SportsTiger does not assume any responsibility and liability for the same.