CAN GUJARAT TITANS BECOME THE THIRD TEAM TO DEFEND THE IPL TITLE?

They have formed their team around their core players from last season. Captain Hardik Pandya has not been at his best, but his captaincy has not suffered. His tenacity with some of his players and his Dhonilike mentality...

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The accomplishment of winning successive IPL trophies held by the two most prestigious and successful teams thus far could be broken this season by Gujarat Titans. Only the Chennai Super Kings and the Mumbai Indians have won two straight IPL titles, and Gujarat Titans are vying to become only the third side to do it this season. They have formed their team around their core players from last season. Captain Hardik Pandya has not been at his best, but his captaincy has not suffered. His tenacity with some of his players and his Dhonilike mentality have sculpted his team's chances to qualify once more. This season’s halfway through, and they sit atop the premier league points table, having lost just two games of their eight matches.

Shubman Gill, Rashid Khan, Wriddiman Saha, Mohammed Shami, David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, and Hardik Pandya form their backbone. After a successful season, they continued with it and added some quick bowlers and young Indian batsmen to their roster, with most of them making significant contributions. Vijay Shankar and B.Sai Sudarshan of Tamil Nadu have two half-centuries each, and other youngsters like Abhinav Manohar, Noor Ahmed, and Joshua Little have already produced match-winning contributions. GT appear to be undefeatable this season, thanks to the combined genius of Ashish Nehra's off-field shenanigans and Hardik's on-field spookiness. They have picked up  where they left off last season and started their winning streak. Let's look at five reasons they're likely to win their second IPL title in a row.