IPL 2023: Punjab Kings and Gujarat Titans aim for comeback
Punjab Kings and Gujarat Titans will battle it out in match number 18 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 season on Thursday in Mohali. After winning their first two matches, Punjab lost to Sunrisers Hyderabad. Meanwhile, holders Gujarat got off to a superb start, winning two games. However, they lost against KKR, when Rinku Singh pulled off a heist. We present the preview.
Timing, TV listing, venue, and pitch details
The match will start at 7:30pm onward. The toss will happen at 7:00pm. Star Sports will telecast the match, fans can also live-stream it on JioCinema (free). The game will be played at the IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali. In terms of the pitch, the surface here will assist batters and a high score is predicted. Average score batting first: 165.82.
Gujarat go into the game as the favorites
Gujarat will be the favorites in this contest given their overall shape and balance. Hardik Pandya is expected to return after missing the KKR match. Sai Sudharsan has been terrific and Vijay Shankar is likely to be the impact player. Rashid Khan and Mohammed Shami can be dangerous with the ball. PBKS have been dependent heavily on Shikhar Dhawan. Other players need to contribute.
1-1 in terms of H2H record
Gujarat and Punjab have a 1-1 record in terms of the head-to-head clashes. Gujarat claimed a six-wicket win in the first meeting in IPL 2022. Punjab then won by eight wickets in the second encounter in the league stage.
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.
A look at the key stats on offer
Dhawan is one shy of 50 fifties in the IPL, having smacked 49 so far. Overall, he has scored 6,469 runs in the IPL at 36.13. Kagiso Rabada has 99 IPL scalps and is one short of 100. Hardik Pandya can get to 2,000 IPL runs, having scored 1,976 at 29.49. Rashid Khan has claimed 120 scalps at just 20.22.
Dream11 Fantasy team choices
Dream11 team option 1: Shikhar Dhawan (c), Shubman Gill (vc), Sai Sudharsan, Wriddhiman Saha, Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, David Miller, Arshdeep Singh, Rashid Khan, Mohammed Shami, Rahul Chahar. Dream11 team option 2: Shikhar Dhawan (c), Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan (vc), Wriddhiman Saha, Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, Hardik Pandya, Arshdeep Singh, Rashid Khan, Alzarri Joseph, Rahul Chahar.
