Ind T20 League 2023

Match 27: PUN vs BLR

Preview

Punjab (PUN) and Bangalore (BLR) will cross swords in match number 27 of the Indian T20 League 2023 at the Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium, Mohali on Thursday (April 20). Punjab is coming into this match on the back of a 2 wicket win against Lucknow. Sikandar Raza, Shahrukh Khan and Sam Curran were the chief architects of the hard fought victory. While Raza and Khan kept a cool head during the tense run chase and helped the visitors get over the line, Curran shouldered the bowling responsibility and picked three crucial wickets to restrict a formidable Lucknow side to 159. 

Bangalore have no one but themselves to blame for their loss to Chennai. They were in cruise control at one stage but then lost momentum and eventually fell 8 runs short. Their batting department relies heavily on the ‘big 3’- Virat Kohli, Faf Du Plessis and Glen Maxwell. Mahipal Lomror has looked helpless, Shahbaz Ahmed lacks quality with bat in hand, Dinesh Kartik is going through a rough patch at the moment and Wayne Parnell is struggling to close off games. They have a paucity of proper batsmen in the middle order at this instance and the management needs to come up with an ideal solution to address their batting woes. Death bowling is another area where Bangalore needs improvement. This season they are amongst the worst teams in terms of most runs conceded in the last five overs. Mohammad Siraj and Harshal Patel have been unsuccessful in limiting the scoring of opposition batters. The dearth of death bowling options is dearly hurting them. 

Ahead of Thursday’s clash, let us have a look at how these two sides fare out on matchday 

Match Details 

Match: PUN vs BLR, 27th Match, Indian T20 League 2023

Date: Thursday, April 20, 2023

Time: 3:30 PM

Venue: Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium, Mohali

Pitch and Weather Report

The Mohali stadium pitch is good for batting. It offers good bounce and pace which gives batters the freedom to play their shots on the up. The fast bowlers will get some early assistance from the wicket. 

Temperatures will hover around the range of 19 and 26 degree celsius. There is a 40% chance of rain on Thursday. 

PUN vs BLR Squads

PUN: Atharva Taide, Matthew Short, Harpreet Singh Bhatia, Sikandar Raza, Sam Curran (c), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Shahrukh Khan, Harpreet Brar, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh, Prabhsimran Singh, Nathan Ellis, Mohit Rathee, Rishi Dhawan, Shikhar Dhawan, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Gurnoor Brar, Baltej Singh, Liam Livingstone, Vidhwath Kaverappa, Shivam Singh 

BLR: Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis (c), Mahipal Lomror, Glenn Maxwell, Shahbaz Ahmed, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Harshal Patel, Wanindu Hasaranga, Wayne Parnell, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Mohammed Siraj, Suyash Prabhudessai, David Willey, Akash Deep, Karn Sharma, Anuj Rawat, Manoj Bhandage, Michael Bracewell, Finn Allen, Siddarth Kaul, Sonu Yadav, Rajan Kumar, Avinash Singh, Himanshu Sharma

PUN vs BLR Probable Playing XIs

PUN: Shikhar Dhawan/Atharva Taide, Matthew Short, Harpreet Singh Bhatia, Sikandar Raza, Sam Curran (c), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Shahrukh Khan, Harpreet Brar, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh

BLR: Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis (c), Mahipal Lomror, Glenn Maxwell, Shahbaz Ahmed, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Harshal Patel, Wanindu Hasaranga, Josh Hazlewood, Karn Sharma, Mohammed Siraj

Match Prediction

Punjab will be brimming with confidence after their last win and will be eager to continue their winning momentum. They will also enjoy the home advantage with them. We back them to win this encounter. 

Top Fantasy Picks

Virat Kohli: The former skipper has looked in good touch this season. With 220 runs in 5 innings, the dashing batter is amongst the leading run scorers this season. He missed out in the last game against Chennai and will surely be yearning to do well on Thursday. 

Faf Du Plessis: The Bangalore skipper played a valiant knock of 62 in the previous tie. He is also currently the Orange cap holder with 259 runs under his belt. Du Plessis this season has seemed to find the ideal balance between caution and aggression. We fancy the South African international to come all guns blazing. 

Sam Curran: The English all rounder was in red hot form with ball in hand in the last game. He picked three key wickets and played a critical role in restricting Lucknow’s potent batting lineup under 160. Expect the 24 year old to continue his domination with the ball. 

Glenn Maxwell: The Aussie international showed us a glimpse of what he is truly capable of with his power hitting in the last game. Maxwell scored 76 off 36 balls and almost took his side home. 

Risky Captaincy Choice

Kagiso Rabada hasn’t found his mark in the Ind T20 League this season. He is struggling to adapt to the conditions and has been wayward most of the time. Having said that, he is one of the fiercest pacers in world cricket right now who possesses the ability to rattle opposition batters with his express pace and accuracy.  

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