Ahmedabad. After starting the Indian Premier League with a win, the Punjab team had to face defeat in two consecutive matches. The batting order, which collapsed in front of the stormy bowling of Mayank Yadav, will have to face a tough challenge from the bowlers of Gujarat Titans on the slow pitch of Motera on Thursday. Punjab Kings have lost their last two matches at the opponent’s ground and defeat against Titans could make their path difficult.
On the other hand, the Titans team is full of confidence after an easy seven-wicket victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad in the last match. Punjab Kings will have to face a different kind of challenge in front of experienced fast bowler Mohit Sharma. Mohit makes good use of knuckle balls, slow bouncers and wide yorkers. Batsmen like Shikhar Dhawan, Jonny Bairstow and Jitesh Sharma will have to face a different kind of challenge who like the ball to come on the bat.
stormy batsman injured, problem in bowling
Punjab’s troubles will increase further if Liam Livingstone remains unavailable after suffering a minor leg muscle injury in the last match. Apart from this, Punjab will also have to face the spin of Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmed. Punjab’s bowling is more of a concern than its batting, especially in the death overs. Harshal Patel has disappointed so far in the current season, giving runs at an economy rate of 11.41. Rahul Chahar also disappointed and gave runs at an economy rate of 11.37.
The Titans executed their plans very well against defending champions Chennai Super Kings. The batsmen have not been able to perform cohesively so far but the bowling unit defended the score in the opening match and showed its skill by preventing Sunrisers from scoring big in the last match.
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Tags: Harshal Patel, IPL 2024, Punjab Kings, Shikhar Dhawan, shubman gill
FIRST PUBLISHED: April 3, 2024, 16:58 IST