IND T20 League 2024

BLR vs PUN, 06th Match

Preview

The sixth match of the Indian T20 League 2024 is all set to take place between Bengaluru(BLR) and Punjab (PUN) on Monday(25th March 2024) at 07:30 PM from M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru, India. The Hosts BLR did not get the start of the campaign after losing the opening clash of the tournament against Chennai(CHE) on Friday night. On the other hand, the Visitors PUN had a phenomenal last match after winning their opening clash against another northern side Delhi(DEL) on Saturday.

The writing appeared to be on the wall for an opening contest defeat for BLR when the Aussie all-rounder Maxwell was dismissed for a golden duck, only four balls after middle order batter Rajat Patidar had gone also without scoring and left Bengaluru at 42/3. While the leading run scorer in the league, Virat Kohli(21) and another Aussie powerhouse Cameron Green dismissed with the score yet to reach 80, the Hosts Chennai(CHE) led by Ruturaj Gaikwad was romping to a victory. However, the Visitors BLR showed that they have more than just their global superstars when Anuj Rawat smashed 48 off 25 balls and the veteran wicketkeeper batter Dinesh Karthik produced a show off 38 off 26 balls which guided BLR to post a respective total of 173 runs.

Ultimately, that total wasn't enough against a strong CHE but Faf Du Plessis-led BLR should take heart from how well they did even without significant contributions from any of their top three batters. Their batters surrender in front of the well-oiled bowling of Mustafizur Rahman who took 4/29 against BLR. The Southern side's time will come and few would be surprised if it comes in this game when they face PUN on Monday at home with an aim of the first win of the tournament.

The Northern side PUN fans would have very delighted after seeing their team pick an early win in the competition. Shikhar Dhawan-led PUN had plenty of previous false dawns so they will not be getting ahead of themselves after their impressive win against Rishabh Pant-led Delhi on Saturday at their new home. That said, if PUN can back that victory up with another one in Bengaluru then we may well see some supporters starting to dare to dream! The Englishmen Sam Curran(63 off 47 balls) and Liam Livingstone(38 off 21 balls) delivered with the bat after Arshdeep Singh(2/28) and Harshal Patel(2/47) had taken two wickets each with the ball. This complete performance from PUN must have given a lot of boost in the dressing game that they will continue in the same fashion and can beat any side in the tournament.

In a head-to-head battle between the two sides BLR and PUN have faced each other in 31 matches in Indian T20 League history. Out of these 31 matches, BLR has won 14 whereas PUN has won 17 matches so far.

Match Details

Match: BLR vs PUN, 6th Match, IND T20 League 2024

Date: Monday, March 25, 2024

Time: 07:30 PM

Venue: M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru, India

Pitch and Weather Report

The venue M. Chinnaswamy Stadium has short boundaries, any score over 190+ will be hard to chase down in the 2nd innings of this game but there will be some assistance for the bowlers, particularly the quicks on this track. Expect to see passionate fans getting behind the Southern side BLR every step of the way throughout the contest. With the Visitors PUN winning when chasing and BLR losing after batting first, we anticipate that both sides will want to bowl first if BLR and PUN win the toss ahead of this match. Historically, fielding first has been the most successful way to go at this venue but not by a particularly large margin.

At M. Chinnaswamy, the evening is likely to be warm throughout the game. The highest and lowest temperatures would be around 32℃ and 22℃, respectively, with a strong wind speed of 14 km/h. There is no sign of rain expected and we can expect a full 40 overs contest between the two sides.

BLR vs PUN Squads

BLR vs PUN Probable Playing XIs

BLR: Faf du Plessis (c), Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Glenn Maxwell, Cameron Green, Dinesh Karthik, Anuj Rawat (wk), Karn Sharma, Alzarri Joseph, Mayank Dagar, Mohammed Siraj

PUN: Shikhar Dhawan (c), Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Liam Livingstone, Shashank Singh, Harpreet Brar, Harshal Patel, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh

Match Prediction

After seeing their head-to-head battle between Bengaluru and Punjab, the Visitors have a better upper hand over the Southern sides. The trio of Kohli, Du Plessis and Maxwell are going to be the key for BLR in this contest, on the other hand, PUN would fancy their chances and would believe that Sam Curran and Liam Livingstone continue their impressive performance in this match as well. However, having the home advantage we anticipate that BLR to win this match against PUN. 

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