The Gujarat Titans(GT) have done a fantastic job, winning both of their first two games despite not having a particularly strong bench.
Their first win came against the Lucknow Super Giants, who beat them by five wickets with two balls to spare. The team then defeated the Delhi Capitals by a margin of 14 runs.
Shubman Gill showed what he’s capable of in this match, hitting a 46-ball 84. Hardik Pandya and David Miller backed him up.
Full squad:
GT: Hardik Pandya, Rashid Khan, Shubman Gill, Mohammed Shami, Jason Roy, Lockie Ferguson, Abhinav Sadarangani, Rahul Tewatia, Noor Ahmed, Sai Kishore, Vijay Shankar, Jayant Yadav, Dominic Drakes, Darshan Nalkande, Yash Dayal, Alzarri Joseph, Pradeep Sangwan, David Miller, Wriddhiman Saha, Matthew Wade, Varun Aaron, B Sai Sudharshan.
PBKS: Shikhar Dhawan, Mayank Agarwal (Captain), Arshdeep Singh, Kagiso Rabada, Jonny Bairstow, Rahul Chahar, Harpreet Brar, Shahrukh Khan, Prabhsimran Singh, Jitesh Sharma, Ishan Porel, Liam Livingstone, Odean Smith, Sandeep Sharma, Raj Angad Bawa, Rishi Dhawan, Prerak Mankad, Vaibhav Arora, Writtick Chatterjee, Baltej Dhanda, Ansh Patel, Nathan Ellis, Atharva Taide, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Benny Howell.
PBKS vs GT: Possible Playing 11
PBKS: Mayank Agarwal (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Bhanuka Rajapakse, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Shahrukh Khan, Odean Smith/Jonny Bairstow, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Vaibhav Arora, Arshdeep Singh.
GT: Mathew Wade (wk), Shubman Gill, Vijay Shankar, Hardik Pandya (Captain), David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Abhinav Manohar, Rashid Khan, Varun Aaron, Lockie Ferguson, Mohammed Shami.
PBKS vs GT Dream11 prediction
Team1: Shikhar Dhawan, Shubman Gill, Bhanuka Rajapakse, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Hardik Pandya, Shahrukh Khan, Odean Smith, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Mohammed Shami. Captain: Hardik Pandya, Vice-Captain: Shikhar Dhawan, Wicketkeeper: Jitesh Sharma.
Team 2: Mayank Agarwal, Jonny Bairstow, Shubhman Gill, Bhanuka Rajapakse, Liam Livingstone, Hardik Pandya, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Rahul Chahar, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh. Captain: Mayank Agarwal, Vice-Captain: Shubman Gill, Wicketkeeper: Jonny Bairstow.
Pitch Report: PBKS vs GT
So far, the pitch has been fantastic for batting; the ball has come in smoothly, and teams have been able to put up significant totals.
Conclusion
The Punjab Kings bounced back from their loss to KKR with a brilliant all-around performance on Sunday, dispatching reigning champions Chennai Super Kings by 54 runs in a dominant display.
Much was expected of Punjab’s big-money signing, Liam Livingstone, who had disappointed so far in the tournament, but the English all-rounder finally delivered against Chennai, scoring 60 from just 32 balls and taking two wickets, and he’ll be looking to build on that performance here, while England teammate Jonny Bairstow could make his first appearance for the Kings this season.
Gujarat Titans will be pleased with their start to the 2022 IPL season, having won both of their first two games despite many reservations about their ability to compete in their first season.
The Titans have a stacked bowling arsenal, with pacemen Mohammed Shami and Lockie Ferguson, as well as mystery spinner Rashid Khan, all proving to be quite efficient, and Gujarat will not likely structure their assault around those three stars once again in this one.
The success of the Gujarat Titans’ bowlers in limiting the Punjab Kings’ top-order firepower will likely determine the outcome of this match. A bowling performance similar to KKR’s against the Kings might reap benefits, whilst a performance similar to CSK’s could see them heavily penalised. Given that Punjab has yet to demonstrate a sustained period of consistency, and that Gujarat’s confidence will be at an all-time high, the wise approach is to back the Titans to win this one, though it will most likely be another close contest.
