Date: April 13, 2023 – 7:30 PM IST
Venue: Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium, Mohali, Chandigarh
The match no. 18 of the Indian T20 League 2023 brings you a clash between Team Punjab and Team Gujarat. Punjab will host this fixture at PCA Stadium in Mohali on Thursday, April 13.
Both these teams have four points to their credit, having won two out of three matches so far. Team Gujarat have a net run-rate of 0.431 while Punjab have some catching up to do with -0.281.
Punjab began their campaign with a 7-run victory over Kolkata on DLS method before edging past Rajasthan by five runs. In the most recent fixture versus Hyderabad, they were beaten eight wickets.
On a surface that had help for bowlers, the Punjab batting unit suffered a big collapse and were reduced to 88 for 9 at the end of 15 overs. But there was one man still standing there and that was Shikhar Dhawan. He played one of the greatest knocks in the history of the league, scoring 99 not-out in 66 balls to help his side reach 143. The total wasn’t enough in the end as Hyderabad chased it down in 17.1 overs.
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The defending champions Gujarat defeated Chennai by five wickets in the first game and went on to beat Delhi by five wickets. They suffered a three-wicket loss in the most recent fixture against Kolkata in what was one of the greatest matches in the history.
Shubman Gill scored 39 off 31 at the top while Sai Sudharsan registered second consecutive fifty. Vijay Shankar then played a blinder, smashing 63 in just 24 balls to power Gujarat to 204/4. Venkatesh Iyer and Nitish Rana had put Kolkata in a strong position but Rashid Khan claimed a hat-trick in 17th over to put his team right on top. Needing 39 off 8, Rinku Singh pulled off the greatest heist by smashing five consecutive sixes to Yash Dayal.
Pitch Report and Weather Forecast for PUN vs GUJ, Match 18
The PCA stadium in Mohali is an outstanding venue for batting, with the pitches being mostly flat. As many as 15 matches have been played here in the Indian T20 League since 2017, with the average first innings score reading 171. One match was hosted here this season, with the team batting first posting 191.
The weather in Mohali could be partly cloudy on Thursday evening but there’s no rain threat. The temperature is likely to be around 24 degree Celsius.
Team Punjab – Expected XI and Team News
Team Punjab have missed the hard-hitting all-rounder Liam Livingstone in the first three games but he could be available for this fixture. Bhanuka Rajapaksa, who had suffered a blow on his hand, missed the previous game and his fitness remains unclear. Nathan Ellis has kept Kagiso Rabada out of the playing XI.
Probable XI – Shikhar Dhawan (c), Prabhsimran Singh, Bhanuka Rajapaksa/Matt Short, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Shahrukh Khan, Rahul Chahar, Harpreet Brar, Nathan Ellis, Arshdeep Singh
Team Gujarat – Expected XI and Team News
Team Gujarat were without their skipper Hardik Pandya in the previous game due to precautionary reasons. He could be back for this game. Yash Dayal is likely to be dropped after a string of poor outings. One of R Sai Kishore and Vijay Shankar is likely to be used as Impact Player depending on what they do first.
Probable XI – Shubman Gill, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Sai Sudharsan, Hardik Pandya (c), David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Alzarri Joseph, Joshua Little, R Sai Kishore, Mohammed Shami
Head to Head record of PUN vs GUJ
Total Encounters – 2
Team Punjab won – 1
Team Gujarat won – 1
Best Captaincy Picks for the PUN vs GUJ match
Shikhar Dhawan: Batter, Team Punjab
Shikhar Dhawan has been terrific for Punjab at the top, scoring 225 runs in three innings this season at a strike rate of 149. He’s coming off an incredible innings of 66-ball 99* in the previous game. One of the consistent batters in the league, Dhawan has scored 2800 runs since 2018 at an average of 40. He’s a top C/VC option for this game.
Shubman Gill: Batter, Team Gujarat
The young Indian star has been in superb form over the last few months and has taken his T20 game to a new level. Shubman has scored 116 runs from three innings in the ongoing tournament, averaging 39 at a strike rate of 145 with one half century. You can back him as a captain for this game.
Rashid Khan: All-rounder, Team Gujarat
Arguably the greatest T20 bowler in the world, Rashid Khan has done an outstanding job for Gujarat this season. He has taken eight wickets in three games at an economy of 7.83. Rashid has the ability to make an impact on any surface and adds value with the bat as well.
Top Differential Picks
David Miller: Batter, Team Gujarat
David Miller had a fantastic campaign last season, scoring 481 runs at an average of 69 and strike rate of 143. He smashed 31* in 16 balls versus Delhi earlier. Miller is picked by only 24% of the fantasy players for this game and could be a good differential.
Liam Livingstone: All-rounder, Team Punjab
Liam Livingstone has finally arrived in India and is expected to play from this match. The all-rounder had an outstanding campaign for Punjab last year, where he scored 437 runs at an average of 36 while striking at 182.
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