Punjab and Gujarat will play each other at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai on April 8. Both teams have had contrasting fortunes in the league so far. After beating Bangalore, they lost to Kolkata but bounced back against Chennai. On the other hand, Gujarat has started its campaign with wins against Lucknow and Delhi respectively. Both teams will be looking forward to building on their winning momentum
Team News
Punjab:Â The team is coming off a big win against the defending champions Chennai as they outplayed them in all departments of the game. Batters such as Shikhar Dhawan, Liam Livingstone, and debutant Jitesh Sharma did well in that match. Talking about the bowling, debutant Vaibhav Arora impressed everyone with his ability to swing the ball. Apart from him, bowlers such as Kagiso Rabada, Arshdeep Singh, Odean Smith, Rahul Chahar, and Liam Livingstone kept the pressure mounting on the opposition. Expect them to field an unchanged playing XI in the next game.
Key Players:Â
Liam Livingstone -Â The explosive batter from England scored 60 off 32 against Chennai. Notably, it came after the team was tottering at 14/2 at one stage. The right-hander has the ability to change the game at will. Expect him to do well in the next match.
Vaibhav Arora -Â The uncapped Indian player took two wickets in the powerplay. He can swing the new ball. Expect him to create more trouble for the batters as he is an unknown commodity in the Indian T20 League.
Probable XI:Â Mayank Agarwal (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Shahrukh Khan, Odean Smith, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Vaibhav Arora, Arshdeep Singh
Gujarat:Â The team is coming off two back-to-back wins against Lucknow and Delhi respectively in their first two games. The team’s biggest strength has been their bowling. They are yet to concede 160 runs, and have picked 15 wickets so far. They would love to see the likes of Matthew Wade and Vijay Shankar fire with the bat as the duo haven’t played an innings of substance so far. Meanwhile, expect them to field the same XI.
Key Players:Â
Shubhman Gill -Â After scoring a duck in the first game, the Indian batter came back strongly with 84 off 46 in the next game. One can expect him to carry his form in the upcoming game.
Mohammed Shami -Â The India pacer has picked five wickets in the tournament so far. He has troubled the batters with the new ball and expect him to do well in the upcoming game as well.
Probable XI:Â Shubman Gill, Matthew Wade (wk), Vijay Shankar, Hardik Pandya (c), David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Abhinav Manohar, Rashid Khan, Varun Aaron, Mohammed Shami, Lockie Ferguson
Match Details
Venue:Â Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai
Time:Â 07:30 PM IST
Live Telecast:Â Star Sports Network and Disney+Hotstar
Pitch Report: The last game played here between Chennai and Punjab saw seamers getting help from the new ball. The game was played at the night time and the upcoming game will be played at the same time. Expect the same conditions on offer.
