Venue: Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai
Time: 7:30 PM IST
Average score at venue (1st inns): 194
Win percentage while batting first: NA
Pitch conditions:
- Bowlers are likely to continue to have a hard time at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai which has witnessed teams raking up huge totals in the two matches played here so far.
- The previous contest here between Chennai and Lucknow showed that a total around 210 is unsafe at this ground due to the heavy dew factor, which means that winning the toss and electing to field will be the mantra for teams here in the time to come.
- Fast bowlers have a wicket-share of 66.67% at this venue compared to 33.33% for the spin bowlers, who will have a great responsibility of containing the opposition batsmen in the clash here on Sunday night.
Weather prediction:
It will continue to be a peak summer day on Sunday in Mumbai with the temperature hitting a high of 30°C in the late afternoon, with the mercury dropping down by a minimum of 1°C after sunset. The humidity levels will linger between 65-75% during the match hours on Sunday night.
HEAD-TO-HEAD RECORD (overall):
Matches played: 25
Chennai won: 15
Punjab won: 10
No result: -
Top 3 players from Chennai: Robin Uthappa, Ambati Rayudu, Dwayne Bravo
Top 3 players from Punjab: Shikhar Dhawan, Rahul Chahar, Mayank Agarwal
Top picks for H2H/WTA contest (top 5 players each):
Top 5 players from Chennai: Robin Uthappa, Ambati Rayudu, Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja, M Dhonii
Top 5 players from Punjab: Shikhar Dhawan, Rahul Chahar, Mayank Agarwal, Kagiso Rabada, Odean Smith
Q & A:
Fantasy tips and tricks: Should I pick more bowlers, batsmen or all-rounders?
The local conditions have been heavily influencing the outcome of the matches as scores around 210 cannot be considered safe given that teams batting second find themselves in a more conducive situation to make their runs than the one batting first. The heavy dew factor on most of the venues in the Indian T20 Cricket League 2022 tournament has forced teams to look for a strategy wherein the play, or use, 6-7 bowling options while look to bat second as it is easier to do so in case if they win the toss. For the contest between Chennai and Punjab, two teams who have lost their previous matches and are desperate to bounce back, it will be wise to add more to the batting department while carry enough bowling options.
Fantasy tips: From which team should I pick more players in my XI? Which team is stronger?
In the case of both Chennai and Punjab, it has been the case of so near yet so far. In the first match, Chennai were blown away by Kolkata as they were shot out for a moderate total and failed to defend it, something that was the fate of Punjab when they met the Shreyas Iyer-led team on Friday night. Both Chennai and Punjab have also notched up scores in excess of 200 once in the tournament already, which implies that their batting does not have many concerns as their bowling department may have. In their last match, Chennai were still very much in the contest despite a dogged run-chase by Lucknow, until the penultimate over of the game from Shivam Dube which went for 25 runs. In this context, both Chennai and Punjab look evenly matched and should have a balanced team with right mix of players converging for the fantasy cricket playing XI.
MORE INFORMATION: These are still initial days of the Indian T20 Cricket League 2022 — the league round this year is of 70 matches with every team to play 14 matches each. So far, the four-time title winners and defending champions Chennai are the only team to have lost both their matches so far. In the first game, Chennai batsmen could not step up against Kolkata and when they did against Lucknow in the second, the bowlers failed to defend 210 with all the odds stacked against them. Indeed, this tournament is heavily being influenced by the dew factor with teams happy to chase whatever their opponents make, since batting is a lot easier in the second essay. The situation is not likely to change in the coming days with Mumbai hosting the majority of the 70-match league round.
PLAYERS’ FORM: Punjab will be disappointed with the way they had a collective failure against Kolkata especially with the bat, something that Chennai overcame in their previous match against Lucknow. For Chennai, opening batsman Ruturaj Gaikwad has had twin failures but Robin Uthappa has been a force to reckon with. With the ball, it has largely been about Dwayne Bravo as far as Chennai are concerned, something that can be said about Punjab, for whom Rahul Chahar has been the best among the lot. Both the teams will wish for a collective performance from all departments on Sunday night in order to push for a desired result.
Changes in squad (if any): NO
LIKELY XIs:
CHENNAI: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Robin Uthappa, Moeen Ali, Ambati Rayudu, M Dhonii, Ravindra Jadeja (c), Dwaine Pretorious, Shivam Dube, Dwayne Bravo, Mukesh Choudhary, Tushar Deshpande
PUNJAB: Shikhar Dhawan, Mayank Agarwal (c), Bhanuka Rajapaksa (wk), Liam Livingstone, Raj Bawa, Shahrukh Khan, Odean Smith, Harpreet Brar, Arshdeep Singh, Rahul Chahar, Kagiso Rabada.
FANTASY XI: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shikhar Dhawan, Moeen Ali (vc), Robin Uthappa (c), Bhanuka Rajpaksa, M Dhonii, Shahrukh Khan/Odean Smith, Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Rahul Chahar, Kagiso Rabada.
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Defending champions Chennai look to end losing streak against Punjab
The four-time title winners and defending champions Chennai will look to end their short two-match losing streak in the ongoing Indian T20 Cricket League 2022 tournament when they face Punjab in the Match No 11 at the Brabourne stadium on Sunday night.
While Chennai have started off their campaign in the Indian T20 Cricket League 2022 with two disappointing defeats at the hands of Kolkata and the new side Lucknow, Punjab were able to shock Bangalore in a high scoring contest — their first in the tournament – before they crashed to a 6-wicket hammering at the hands of Kolkata.
For Chennai, the bowling department has been an area of concern after Lucknow batsmen scored nearly 40 runs in the last 2 overs to clinch a victory from the possible jaws of defeat in their previous match at this venue, despite the defending champions putting up a total of 210.
The dew factor indeed has been influencing the outcomes of the matches but Chennai will want to find their way around problems rather than wait for a solution to show up, something that almost every team is grappling with in this tournament.
Ruturaj Gaikwad is due for a big score after twin failures but Chennai will be dependent on their middle-order batsman Robin Uthappa and Ambati Rayudu to do the key job of getting runs in the middle overs and holding their innings together.
Chennai captain Ravindra Jadeja and former skipper M Dhonii have been playing the role of aggressors towards the end of the innings, and they will continue to do so.
All-rounder Shivam Dube came up with a brilliant 49 in their previous match against Lucknow the penultimate over undid all the hard work with Evin Lewis collecting 25 runs.
On the other hand, Punjab will look to produce a collective effort after their batsmen disappointed in the contest against Kolkata at the Wankhede Stadium on Friday night.
Punjab were bowled out for a poor total of 137 despite making a promising start, and with the ball, they could not get better of Andre Russell who ripped apart their bowling attack to score a 31-ball 70 not out.
Punjab will look up to their captain Mayank Agarwal and senior player Shikhar Dhawan for inspiration with the bat whereas a lot will be expected from the likes of young players such as Shahrukh Khan, Rahul Chahar, Harpreet Brar and Arshdeep Singh who have been a regular fixtures for the 2014 finalists.
The availability of Kagiso Rabada has indeed strengthened the Punjab side further who impressed with both bat and the ball in the contest against Kolkata.
