Gujarat Titans vs Rajasthan Royals: Raina, Hayden, Smith predict winners of IPL 2022

Gujarat Titans (GT) will face the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the final of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 on Sunday. The match is set to begin at 8:00 PM IST and will be hosted at Ahmedabad's freshly-constructed Narendra Modi Stadium. Ahead of the key encounter, a number of former cricketers expressed their thoughts on who they believe would have the upper hand in tonight's do-or-die game. Suresh Raina, Matthew Hayden, and Graeme Smith are among the former cricketers who have picked their favourites for the summit clash.

IPL 2022 Final: Raina, Hayden make predictions for GT vs RR match

Former India cricketer Suresh Raina, who had captained the now-defunct IPL side Gujarat Lions in 2016 and 2017, picked Gujarat Titans as his favourite to win tonight's game. Raina, while speaking on Star Sports, said Gujarat Titans will have an edge because they have had good rest for four-five days after Qualifier 1 and their players will be fresh when they take on Rajasthan in the final of the competition. The cricketer-turned-commentator, however, warned Gujarat of the threat posed by Jos Buttler and said if the England batter fires one last time this season, it will be a bonus for Rajasthan. 

Former South African skipper Graeme Smith, who was part of the Rajasthan Royals squad during their victorious inaugural campaign in 2008, backed the Sanju Samson-led side to win tonight's clash against Gujarat. Smith believes Rajasthan will have an advantage over Gujarat because they have already got the taste of the surface and their players will know how the condition is going to be at the Narendra Modi Stadium. 

Former Aussie legend Matthew Hayden has picked Rajasthan Royals as his choice for tonight's game. Hayden feels that the middle-order batters have been really good for Gujarat over the course of the entire tournament but also highlighted that the pace and bounce on the surface are not a good sign for the Hardik Pandya-led side. 

GT vs RR: Predicted XIs

Rajasthan Royals: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson (captain & wk), Devdutt Padikkal, Shimron Hetmyer, Riyan Parag, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Obed McCoy, Yuzvendra Chahal, Prasidh Krishna.

Gujarat Titans: Shubman Gill, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Matthew Wade, Hardik Pandya (captain), David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, R Sai Kishore, Yash Dayal, Lockie Ferguson, Mohammed Shami.