It promises to be a thrilling encounter in the Indian Premier League 2023 when the Punjab Kings and Gujarat Titans will face each other in the 18th match of the tournament. Both teams have played 3 games till now and won 2 games each. Gujarat is in the 4th position owing to its better net run rate while Punjab is in the 6th position.
Both teams are coming off a defeat in their last match. Gujarat was blown away by Rinku Singh as he won the game by hitting 5 consecutive sixes in the last over while Punjab was defeated by the Sunrisers Hyderabad by 8 wickets in their last match. Both sides will be looking to come back on the winning track in this game.
Team Preview
Punjab Kings
Shikhar Dhawan is the only consistent batter for Punjab this season. They have a good batting unit but the other batters must be consistent and support their skipper. They have a very explosive batting unit with the likes of Prabhsimran Singh, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Jitesh Sharma, Sam Curran and Shahrukh Khan. Sikandar Raza is also there. Liam Livingstone is expected to play this game and it will be a huge boost for them as he’s one of the most destructive players in world cricket.
Punjab’s bowling has been decent in the three games until now. Arshdeep Singh has been in top form with the new ball while Nathan Ellis too has picked up wickets at the right times. Their spinners have been a little ineffective but they have bowled well until now. Kagiso Rabada is sitting on the bench and it’ll be interesting to see when he gets a go in the playing eleven. Overall, Punjab is looking decent but they need to play as a team and be consistent.
Gujarat Titans
The Gujarat Titans are in good form at the moment. They lost their last game but it was an exceptional inning from Rinku Singh. They have one of the most balanced sides on paper in the tournament. The batters are in good form with Sai Sudarshan and Shubman Gill scoring runs consistently. Vijay Shankar and David Miller have also contributed with the bat. They didn’t feel Hardik Pandya’s absence in the last match but he’s a key player for his team with both bat and ball.
Gujarat has an excellent bowling attack with the likes of Mohammad Shami, Alzarri Joseph, Rashid Khan and Joshua Little being the lead bowlers. Rashid Khan picked up a hat trick in the last game while the others have been in good form as well. Gujarat will be con
Pitch Venue Report
It will be a belter of a wicket at Mohali. Runs will flow in this game and the batters are expected to completely dominate the game. Punjab scored 190+ in the first game played here. The average first innings score here is 170 runs and chasing sides have won 57% of the games played here. There will be some help for the pacers with the new ball while the big dimensions of the grounds will keep the spinners in play.
Probable Playing XI
Punjab Kings: Shikhar Dhawan (c), Prabhsimran Singh, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, Shahrukh Khan, Harpreet Brar, Nathan Ellis/Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh
Gujarat Titans: Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Shubman Gill, Sai Sudarshan, Abhinav Manohar/Hardik Pandya (c), David Miller, Vijay Shankar, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Alzarri Joseph, Mohammad Shami, Joshua Little
Players to Watch Out For
Shikhar Dhawan
Shikhar Dhawan scored a brilliant 99* in the last game. He is the highest run-scorer of the tournament with 225 runs in 3 matches at an average of 225! Dhawan will be the best batter for Punjab in this game.
Liam Livingstone
Liam Livingstone will be an important player for Punjab. He will bat in the middle overs and will bowl a few overs as well. We all know how destructive he can be with the bat and Punjab will hope that he gets going right away.
Rashid Khan
Rashid Khan has picked up 8 wickets until now including a hat trick in the last match. He is a world-class bowler and can pick up a few wickets in this game. Â
Shubman Gill
Shubman Gill has looked in good touch in all the games but has failed to convert the starts into big scores. He has 116 runs at an average of 38.67. He will be a crucial batter for Gujarat at the top.
Key Matchups
Shubhman Gill vs Kagiso Rabada: Runs – 29, Balls – 37, Dismissals – 2
Shikhar Dhawan vs Rashid Khan: Runs – 56, Balls – 53, Dismissals – 4
Liam Livingstone vs Rashid Khan: Runs – 113, Balls – 65, Dismissals – 4
Liam Livingstone vs Mohammad Shami: Runs – 33, Balls – 8, Dismissals – 0
Shikhar Dhawan vs Mohammad Shami: Runs – 113, Balls – 75, Dismissals – 0
PBKS vs GT Dream11 Team
Note: This is not our final Dream11 Team as we are not aware of the Toss Result/Final Playing XI of both teams at this moment.
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