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Match Details
Date: o8 April 2022
Time: 7:30 PM IST
Venue: Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai
Ball-by-ball Commentary: SportsTiger App
Preview
The 16th match of the 15th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will see Punjab Kings and Gujarat Titans locking horns against each other at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai. Both teams are coming on the back of a win and will hope to continue the streak. While Punjab beat a struggling Chennai, Gujarat outclassed Delhi to register their second win of the tournament. Now, both captains will be pumped up to prove their mettle.
Pitch Report
The pitch at Brabourne has produced high-scoring games and both teams have the firepower to score big. So, it is expected to be raining boundaries during the Punjab vs Gujarat clash. Spinners have enjoyed a bit of help from the pitch at Brabourne while pacers have conceded runs.
Team Analysis
Punjab Kings:
A new-look Punjab under Mayank Agarwal has surprised many. The team has pulled off wins by chasing as well as defending. While they chased down 206 against RCB in their opening game of the season, they defended 181 against CSK. The results have not been the talking point though. The approach from the batters has what turned heads towards Punjab. Mayank Agarwal is still to fire and Jonny Bairstow has not got a game yet, but still, Punjab have played aggressively. It doesn't look like that they will make a change to the XI until something unfortunate happens. The only possible change can be Jonny Bairstow in place of Bhanuka Rajapaksa.
SportsTiger Playing XI of PBKS:
Mayank Agarwal (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Bhanuka Rajapaksa/Jonny Bairstow, Liam Livingstone, Shahrukh Khan, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Odean Smith, Arshdeep Singh, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Vaibhav Arora
Gujarat Titans:
Gujarat management took a sigh of relief after Shubman Gill returned among run charts. Although it was their only second game, Gill's returning to runs was important considering GT's batting line up. There are only a few specialist batters and Gill is the best among them. GT's bowling lineup looks invincible with Lockie Ferguson, Mohammed Shami, and Rashid Khan in the hut. Captain Hardik Pandya has also started bowling and is clicking the 140+ mark regularly which is a great sign for the team. Rahul Tewatia has adopted the finisher's role brilliantly. The only concern is Vijay Shankar's form. With consecutive failures for Shankar at No.3, GT management may be tempted to promote Abhinav Manohar.
SportsTiger Playing XI of GT:
Matthew Wade (wk), Shubman Gill, Abhinav Manohar, Hardik Pandya (c), David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Vijay Shankar, Rashid Khan, Lockie Ferguson, Varun Aaron, Mohammed Shami
Match Prediction
Conclusion
Although Punjab have played brilliantly and were able to take down CSK and RCB, GT look like a more complete team.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the author’s point of view. They neither reflect the opinion of SportsTiger nor advise anyone to make any prediction based on this. SportsTiger does not assume any responsibility and liability for the same.