Indian T20 League 2023

PUN vs LUC, 38th Match

Preview

After the end of the first half of the Indian T20 League, the reverse fixtures are on the way. Punjab and Lucknow will square off in the 38th match which is indeed very crucial for both sides as they have the same 8 points. The match is scheduled at the Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali on Friday, April 28. 

Punjab will come into this encounter with a win against the mighty Mumbai while the Lucknow side had a bit of hard luck as they lost their last game against the defending champions Gujarat.

KL Rahul and Co. are having a bad time because of their poor run in the batting department. Their last three games have witnessed declining strike rates and they need to come out of the situation in order to return to the winning position. Punjab defeated Lucknow in the first-half encounter between the two teams. Now as the Shikhar Dhawan-led side is playing at their home venue, they will have the advantage to claim their second victory against Lucknow this season.

Shikhar Dhawan will most probably take charge in this game after missing out on the previous match against Mumbai in which his team fetched a 13-run victory over the five-time champions. 

Dhawan’s return to the squad would strengthen the top-order batting. He and Prabhsimran Singh have already proved to be an effective opening pair for the Punjab side. Liam Livingstone and Matthew Short must stand up to their reputations and build strong partnerships. The lower middle order is in sublime form and the team would expect runs from Shahrukh Khan, Sam Curran and Jitesh Sharma.

The bowling attack would be led by Arshdeep Singh who is currently very close to acquiring the purple cap after this game. Harpreet Brar, Rahul Chahar and Nathan Ellis would be the other bowlers coming to their team’s rescue. The bowling side should be on alert as the Lucknow batters will be targeting to hit hard against them.

The KL Rahul-led side would try to get over their horrible performance against the Gujarat side. The 7-run loss which came as a result of their failure while chasing down a 136-run target is definitely not getting down their throat so easily, and hence they need a win in this fixture to get back into their winning mood. They need to freshen up their mind and focus on scoring more runs in the powerplays to boost the score.

Kyle Mayers and KL Rahul are in excellent touch but Rahul needs to increase his strike rate after all the criticisms he received after the last game. Nicholas Pooran has been a crucial player in the middle order and has anchored the innings well with Krunal Pandya and Ayush Badoni. Also, there are hard hitters like, Deepak Hooda and Marcus Stoinis who can take care of the finishing stuff. 

Their bowling department has been doing great and would look forward to Naveen-ul-Haq and Krunal Pandya delivering again with the new ball. Amit Mishra is also using his experience well to rope down the flow of runs. The rest is upto Ravi Bishnoi, Krisnappa Gowtham, Marcus Stoinis and Avesh Khan to perform well in the supporting role. 

Match Details

Match: PUN vs LUC, 38th Match, IND T20 League 2023

Date: Friday, April 28, 2023

Time: 07:30 PM

Venue: Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium, Mohali

Pitch and Weather Report

Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium will host the match. It is the home ground for the Punjab side and the average score for T20s here is 180 runs. This pitch was the pace bowler’s paradise till the ‘90s. But gradually it has slowed down and now the traits show it’s most favourable for the batters. 

The weather on the matchday is predicted to have a highest of 33 degrees Celsius with clouds mostly covering the sky but unlikely to interrupt the gameplay. 

PUN vs LUC Squads

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

LUC: KL Rahul (c), Ayush Badoni, Karan Sharma, Manan Vohra, Quinton de Kock, Marcus Stoinis, Krishnappa Gowtham, Deepak Hooda, Kyle Mayers, Krunal Pandya, Avesh Khan, Mohsin Khan, Mark Wood, Mayank Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi, Nicholas Pooran, Jaydev Unadkat, Yash Thakur, Romario Shepherd, Daniel Sams, Amit Mishra, Prerak Mankad, Swapnil Singh, Naveen-ul-Haq, Yudhvir Charak 

PUN vs LUC Probable Playing XIs

PUN: Matt Short, Prabhsimran Singh, Atharva Taide, Liam Livingstone, Harpreet Singh Bhatia, Sam Curran (c), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Shahrukh Khan, Harpreet Brar, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh

LUC: KL Rahul (c), Kyle Mayers, Krunal Pandya, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Ayush Badoni, Marcus Stoinis, Deepak Hooda, Prerak Mankad, Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Mark Wood

Match Prediction

Speaking of the last clash between both sides, Punjab won the match against Lucknow by 3 wickets. Yet if we speak of Punjab’s performance in this edition of the Indian T20 League, they have been quite prolific with the bat and ball and in this process, they have managed to bag four wins. On the other side, the Lucknow side has also managed to prove their dominance in the same number of matches only. When comparing their performance, we think Punjab has a good chance of overpowering their opponent in this match again for the second time this season, also having the home crowd as their advantage. 

Top Fantasy Picks

Shikhar Dhawan is the highest run-getter for the Punjab side with 233 runs at a strike rate of 146. He has smashed 8 sixes and 29 fours till now. 

Arshdeep Singh has been the top wicket-taker for Punjab and has taken 13 wickets while bowling at an economy rate of 8.16 and an average of 15. 

KL Rahul is the best batter for Lucknow and has scored 262 runs at a strike rate of 113. He has hit 3 sixes and 27 fours. 

Mark Wood is in his prime form and has picked up 11 wickets for the Lucknow side while bowling at an economy rate of 8.13 and an average of 11. He is one of the favourites to win the purple cap.

Risky Captaincy Choice

The Caribbean batter has been sensational in this season of the Indian T20 League and has played some impressive knocks like a 19-ball 62 which helped the Lucknow side fetch a win against Bangalore. The Southpaw has smashed 141 runs in four innings at a huge strike rate of 220.31 and an average of 47. Pooran will surely be the batter to keep a keen eye on against Lucknow Punjab in the next fixture. 

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