Indian T20 League 2022: Match 48- Gujarat vs Punjab- Preview, Playing XIs, Pitch Reports & Updates

Table-toppers, Gujarat go head-on with Punjab in the 48th match of the Indian T20 League 2022. This will be the second encounter between the two this season. While Gujarat easily won the first match by six wickets, Punjab will be keen to win the second match on May 3rd at the DY Patil Stadium. Gujarat has played nine games in the season and won eight of them to top the table. Punjab, on the other hand, has struggled this season. They’ve played nine games and won four of them, keeping them at the seventh place in the standings.

Team Updates

Gujarat

Gujarat, captained by Hardik Pandya, has been the most consistent team this season. They’ve played courageous cricket and got the results for it. Even in games where they were on the verge of losing, they battled back to win. The last two games against Hyderabad and Bangalore are great examples of that. The key reasons they won these matches were David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, and Rashid Khan, all of them have been brilliant at the death.

The team, however, would want to be more consistent with their batting at the start of the innings. They’d want more runs from Shubman Gill and Wriddhiman Saha.

Players to watch out for

Hardik Pandya- Except for the last two games, Hardik Pandya has been in an incredible form this season. He has scored 308 runs at an average of 51.3 in the eight matches that he has played. Gujarat will need him to deliver a good performance against Punjab.

David Miller- Playing with a strike rate of 150.8, David Miller has played the role of a finisher for Gujarat to perfection. In nine games, he has scored 276 runs at an average of 69. He will have to keep his form intact in the match against Punjab.

Probable Playing XI

Shubman Gill, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Sai Sudharsan, Hardik Pandya (c), David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Pradeep Sangwan, Alzarri Joseph, Lockie Ferguson, Mohammed Shami

Punjab

Despite having a great team on paper, Punjab has struggled to get the desired results this season. Key players’ inconsistent performances have cost them the games this season. Liam Livingstone, who appeared to be in fantastic form at first, has also faded. He has just scored 39 runs in the past three games. To keep the playoff hopes alive, the team will have to win all their remaining games. Kagiso Rabada, Shikhar Dhawan, Jonny Bairstow, and Mayank Agarwal will all have to give good performances.

Players to watch out for

Kagiso Rabada- Kagiso Rabada did not have the best start to the season, but he is slowly getting back to the rhythm. He got a four-wicket haul in the last match against Lucknow. Overall, he has taken 13 wickets in eight games at an economy rate of 8.27.

Shikhar Dhawan- Shikhar Dhawan has given some good performances this season and has aggregated 307 runs in nine games. However, his strike rate of 126 has not been great. He would look to increase that in the upcoming games.

Probable Playing XI

Mayank Agarwal (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma, Rishi Dhawan, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Sandeep Sharma, Arshdeep Singh

Pitch Report

The wickets have slowed significantly after repeated games at the same venues. The DY Patil Stadium will now aid the spinners and batting won’t be easy. The team winning the toss would want to bowl first here, considering the dew factor.

Match Details

Date- 3rd May 2022

Time- 7:30 p.m (IST)

Venue- DY Patil Stadium, Mumbai

Broadcast- Star Sports Network, Disney+ Hotstar