IPL 2023, PBKS vs GT: Pitch report (PCA Stadium)
Punjab Kings will be up against Gujarat Titans in Match 18 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 on Thursday (April 13) in Mohali. Both teams are eyeing a comeback, having lost their respective previous fixtures. However, both sides claimed victories in their first two games with comprehensive performances. Here we look at the pitch report of Mohali's PCA Stadium.
How the pitch will behave?
The track here generally favors the batting side with the outfield being on the quicker side. Fast bowlers, however, can generate some swing with the new ball. The only previous game here this season saw PBKS defeat Kolkata Knight Riders by seven runs (DLS method) after posting 191/5. The trend of win-toss-bowl-first is likely to continue due to the dew factor.
How have PBKS fared at this venue?
Since 2018, PBKS have claimed nine victories in 11 games played in Mohali. Overall, however, they have just 31 victories in 57 matches at this venue. They suffered defeats 26 times. Meanwhile, chasing teams have won 32 of the 57 IPL games played at this location. The average first-innings run rate of 8.42 in IPL here is the testimony of the good batting surface.
A look at the other important stats
2019 was the previous IPL edition which witnessed the home-and-away format. Five of the seven matches at this venue that season were won by the chasing side. Four times a total over 190 has been chased at this ground in IPL. The fifth-highest IPL team total of 240/5 was recorded in Mohali by Chennai Super Kings in 2008.
Who are the key performers?
Shikhar Dhawan has fared decently at this venue, scoring 479 runs in 16 T20 appearances at a strike rate of 128.76. Mohammed Shami, who once was a part of the PBKS set-up, owns 13 wickets in 11 T20 matches here (ER: 9.02). Hardik Pandya's highest T20I score of 71* was recorded at this venue last year against Australia.
Here are the Probable XIs
Punjab Kings (PBKS): Shikhar Dhawan (c), Prabhsimran Singh, Matthew Short, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Shahrukh Khan, Sam Curran, Harpreet Brar, Rahul Chahar, Kagiso Rabada, Arshdeep Singh. Gujarat Titans (GT): Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan, Hardik Pandya (c), David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Mohammed Shami, Joshua Little, Yash Dayal, Alzarri Joseph.
