(Cricket news) Both the teams heading into the match are in great form having won two consecutive matches. This battle could turn out to be the tastiest of this IPL as both sides provide different skills as one T20 side is full of big hitters and the other team's attack boasts of pace, seam, swing, spin and variations.
PBKS have showcased their big hitting form this season as the likes of Liam Livingstone, Shahrukh Khan, Odean Smith and Bhanuka Rajapaksa all have shown glimpses of their big hitting skills. For Mayank Agarwal and co, Johnny Bairstow is out of quarantine and set to make his PBKS debut but it will be an interesting watch to see which foreigner gets dropped. Kagiso Rabada will be the key in this match as his matchup against Shubam Gill will be an interesting watch, the GT opener has faced 23 balls, scored 12 runs and has 1 dismissal, this could be crucial for the Punjab Kings. PBKS boast the highest powerplay run rate of all teams this season of 10.94 as Mayank Agarwal and Shikar Dhawan have laid down a good platform for the rest of the big hitters to come and flourish.
The Gujarat Titans have showcased why they have the best bowling line up in the league as the fast bowlers have had a big say in both of their wins so far, but they now move to a venue which has been a very batting friendly track and the ground being smaller the bowlers face a challenge to keep the batter in check. On top of that they face a side that has been at its devastating best in the PowerPlay but GT's bowling potency in the PowerPlay (7 wickets so far) adds another edge to this potentially interesting battle in the powerplay. Liam Livingstone vs Rashid Khan could be a tense clash, with Rashid having dismissed the Englisman batsman thrice before but also has conceded 77 runs in 46 balls. Shubman Gill has faced 21 balls of spin this season and has scored 45 runs off them, without being dismissed at and a strike rate of 214 but he needs to be wary of the threat of Rahul Chahar who has the knack of picking up wickets at crucial junctures of the games.
Pitch and weather report: The Brabourne stadium has seen the most runs scored in this particular venue as history suggests that chasing targets in this small venue is easier but in the last match, PBKS quite comfortably defended a total despite dew playing a major part in it. The trends of winning the toss and bowling will likely continue as the temperature is going to hover around 31 degrees with no chance of rain,
Interesting facts:
- Kings have smashed 33 sixes so far this season, the second-most behind Rajasthan Royals' 36
- Hardik Pandya is one six away from reaching 100 sixes in the IPL
- Since 2021, Lockie Freguson has managed five wickets in 60 balls and an economy rate of 8.70 in the death overs.
- Rashid Khan has picked 18 wickets in 10 match against PBKS
- PBKS spinner Rahul Chahar has conceded just one four and one six in three games and has also picked six wickets.
Also read: Lucknow leave it late to get 6 wicket win over Delhi Capitals
Probable XI for PBKS:
1 Mayank Agarwal (capt), 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Bhanuka Rajapaksa/Johnny Bairstow, 4 Liam Livingstone, 5 Shahrukh Khan, 6 Jitesh Sharma (wk), 7 Odean Smith, 8 Arshdeep Singh, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Rahul Chahar, 11 Vaibhav Arora.
Probable XI for GT:
1 Shubman Gill, 2 Matthew Wade (wk), 3 Vijay Shankar, 4 Abhinav Manohar, 5 Hardik Pandya (capt), 6 David Miller, 7 Rahul Tewatia, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Varun Aaron/Yash Dayal/Darshan Nalkande/Pradeep Sangwan, 10 Lockie Ferguson, 11 Mohammed Shami
