0:
Bangalore and Punjab will go head to head on Sunday in what promises to be another cracking game of cricket in the Indian T20 League. While Bangalore are sitting comfortably in the top half of the competition, they would not want to lose points close to the business end of the competition. On the other hand, the margin for error for Punjab Kings is very minimal and they simply have to win all their matches to have a chance at reaching the Playoffs. With rich stakes in this game, here is an attempt at analyzing who will have their noses ahead coming into this fixture based on the following factors:
1. Head to head record
In overall 27 matches that the teams have come across each other in the Indian T20 League, it is the KL Rahul-led side who have a better win: lose ratio. Punjab have won 15 of these 27 matches while Bangalore have registered wins in the remaining 12.
2. UAE factor
As far as the record in UAE is concerned, it further tilts the balance in favour of the Punjab side. The two teams have come across each other thrice in the Middle Eastern country and on all the three occasions Punjab has come out on top.
In fact, in the 2020 edition of the tournament, which was played entirely in the UAE, on both occasions, Punjab had registered a win.
3. Recent form
Both the teams are coming on the back off a respective win in their previous match. Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, KS Bharat, Glenn Maxwell have all been among the runs in Bangalore's recent matches while Harshal Patel and Yuzvendra Chahal have been the wreckers in chief with the ball.
However, even Punjab seemed to have got the combination right in their last match. KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal both have been among the runs with Shahrukh Khan looking like a good addition. Aiden Markram has played a couple of handy knocks too with Arshdeep Singh and Ravi Bishnoi looking good with a ball and the experience of Mohammed Shami to bank upon.
Considering the aforementioned factors, the team of the day is Punjab.