(Cricket news) Gujarat Titans have hardly put a foot wrong in this year’s tournament, they are not just winning games in their first season of the Indian Premier League, they are defying odds, outplaying their oppositions collectively. On the other hand Punjab Kings are still yet to fire as a collective union, Mayank Agarwal and co will hope to find the midas touch and go on a winning run.
The Gujarat Titans are going into the match knowing that a victory will virtually seal their place in the top 4. "The way they are batting, it gives me the confidence that even our No. 8, 9 and 10 can win us the game," their captain Hardik Pandya said after the game against RCB, the batting trio of Miller, Tewatia and Rashid Khan have been phenomenal finishing games for them. If you look closely at their team, Shubman Gill has managed only 80 runs in Titans' last six games, at a strike rate of 98.76 and they are still yet to figure out who their best No. 3 batter. Along with that the added uncertainty around Pandya's bowling fitness, they have been forced to play an extra bowler and compromise their batting but that has all been masked with a terrific bowling unit and their lower order.
Punjab Kings are looking for some consistency in their performance in this year’s IPL as they are languishing at seventh on the points table. The major concern this year is that they haven't figured out their best XI. In the batting department Shikhar Dhawan and Liam Livingstone have scored the bulk of the runs as the rest haven’t really got going in this year's tournament. In the bowling department the PBKS spinners have struggled the most as Rahul Chahar has conceded 254 runs at an economy rate of over 8 but on the other hand Arshdeep and Rabada have been the key in the death overs. Kagiso Rabada will hold the key in today’s match as he has managed to keep Shubhman Gill in check, conceding only 20 runs in 32 balls, and dismissing the Titans' opener twice and he has kept David Miller quiet conceding only 30 runs in 32 balls and also dismissing his international teammate once.
Pitch and weather report: The DY Patil pitch has been a mixed bag as a lot of runs have been scored and lots of wickets have also fallen at this venue. We can expect ballers to hit the deck hard in the first 6 overs as the pitch might offer some swing. The longer boundaries will play a major role in this match. The temperature is going to hover around 30 degrees, with no chance of rain as dew may play a part in the second innings.
Interesting facts:
- Wriddhiman Saha has scored 91 runs at a SR of 142.18 in the powerplay without getting out
- Dhawan has taken Mohammed Shami for 108 runs off 69 balls without getting out.
- Liam Livingstone has scored 86 runs off 52 balls against Rashid but has also been dismissed four times.
- Miller and Tewatia have added 236 runs in six innings this season at an average of 59 and a run rate of 10.48.
- Titans have won five run chases in the last over, two of them off the last ball only CSK in 2018 saw more last over finishes
Also read: Has Kolkata Knight Riders' retention policy failed already?
Probable XI for GT:
1 Shubman Gill, 2 Wriddhiman Saha (wk), 3 Sai Sudharsan, 4 Hardik Pandya (capt), 5 David Miller, 6 Rahul Tewatia, 7 Rashid Khan, 8 Alzarri Joseph, 9 Lockie Ferguson, 10 Mohammed Shami, 11 Yash Dayal/Pradeep Sangwan.
Probable XI for PBKS:
1 Shikhar Dhawan, 2 Mayank Agarwal (capt), 3 Bhanuka Rajapaksa, 4 Jonny Bairstow, 5 Liam Livingstone, 6 Jitesh Sharma (wk), 7 Rishi Dhawan, 8 Kagiso Rabada, 9 Rahul Chahar, 10 Arshdeep Singh, 11 Sandeep Sharma.
