Toss and Impact Player strategy
Punjab Kings
In the last match, Kings started without Sikandar Raza to see if they could squeeze in Rabada during the second innings. A collapse with the bat meant Raza had to be substituted in. Now, though, Livingstone’s arrival could make Kings go with a more conventional side.
Probable bat-first XI: 1 Prabhsimran Singh, 2 Shikhar Dhawan (capt), 3 Bhanuka Rajapaksa, 4 Jitesh Sharma (wk), 5 Liam Livingstone, 6 Sam Curran, 7 M Shahrukh Khan, 8 Harpreet Brar, 9 Nathan Ellis, 10 Rahul Chahar, 11 Arshdeep Singh
Gujarat Titans
Hardik should replace Abhinav Manohar in the bat-first XI while it remains to be seen if they show faith in Yash Dayal or give him a break after that fateful last over to Rinku. It is not a bad time to introduce the impressive left-arm spinner, R Sai Kishore. Their Impact Player scene seems sorted: Sai Sudharsan starts if they bat first, Josh Little if they field.
Probable bat-first XI: 1 Wriddhiman Saha (wk), 2 Shubman Gill, 3 Sai Sudharsan, 4 Hardik Pandya (capt), 5 Vijay Shankar, 6 David Miller, 7 Rahul Tewatia, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Alzarri Joseph, 10 Mohammed Shami, 11 R Sai Kishore
Stats that matter
Livingstone has scored 119 runs off 69 balls against Rashid Khan: an average of 30 and a strike rate of 173.Mohammed Shami has never dismissed Shikhar Dhawan, who strikes at 149 against him.At 70.5%, the Kings top three have made the second-biggest contribution to their team’s total this IPL, behind only Royal Challengers Bangalore.
PITCH REPORT
It will be the second game of the season at the Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali. In the first game, PBKS dominated with the bat in the first half and the ball in the second half. But this will be a night game, and the situation might not be the same. The pitch here might have a lot for both batters and bowlers throughout the match. The team winning the toss will likely elect to bowl.
