Ind T20 League 2022

Match 38: PUN vs CHE

Preview

Chennai is in a mixed position right now. The team is struggling poorly but defeated their arch-rivals Mumbai in the last match. If they can carry forward the momentum, they can still create a difference otherwise the defending champions will bow out of the tournament pretty early. Punjab on the other hand was shattered by Delhi in the last match and they need to realise that this is a team game after all. Only a selective number of players are doing well and that has been the template. When will it change?

Liam Livingstone with the bat and Rahul Chahar with the ball, that’s the only positive thing for Punjab at the moment. Shikhar Dhawan is not converting his starts and Mayank has been inconsistent. Other batters are just not good enough. No one is quite sure why players like Rishi Dhawan, Raj Bawa are warming the bench even when other batters are not stepping up. Bairstow, such a dangerous player in the white ball cricket, is simply not playing well. His substitute Bhanuka Rajapaksa did well in the limited opportunity he got and don’t be surprised if he makes a return soon. Bowlers have been average as well. Punjab spent a lot of bucks on Kagiso Rabada but the South African hasn’t performed as was expected from him. Overall, there are a lot of areas Punjab needs to work on at the moment!

Same can be said for Chennai. Thanks to MS Dhoni as it is because of him, the team managed to get over the line in the last match against Mumbai. Batters need to improve again! Ambati Rayudu and Robin Uthappa are doing well while Ruturaj Gaikwad needs to be consistent. Dropping Moeen Ali was a huge call but bringing Pretorius is important. Mukesh was brilliant with the new ball in the last match and the fans will fancy that he repeats something like this in a much weaker Punjab batting line-up!

Match Details

Match: PUN vs. CHE, 38th Match, Indian T20 League 2022

Date: Monday, April 25, 2022

Time: 7:30 PM

Venue: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.

Pitch Report

Expect plenty of runs. The pacers will get some help but the batters have the ability to dominate. Bowling first will be ideal if there’s no dew and expect a high-scoring game.

PUN vs. CHE Squads

PUN: Mayank Agarwal(c), Shikhar Dhawan, Prabhsimran Singh, Jonny Bairstow, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma(w), Shahrukh Khan, Odean Smith, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Vaibhav Arora, Arshdeep Singh, Benny Howell, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Sandeep Sharma, Rishi Dhawan, Baltej Singh, Writtick Chatterjee, Prerak Mankad, Ishan Porel, Atharva Taide, Harpreet Brar, Nathan Ellis, Ansh Patel, Raj Bawa

CHE: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Robin Uthappa, Moeen Ali, Ambati Rayudu, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja(c), MS Dhoni(w), Dwayne Bravo, Chris Jordan, Maheesh Theekshana, Mukesh Choudhary, Dwaine Pretorius, Tushar Deshpande, Hari Nishanth, N Jagadeesan, Matheesha Pathirana, Devon Conway, Mitchell Santner, Subhranshu Senapati, Prashant Solanki, KM Asif, Simarjeet Singh, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Bhagath Varma

PUN vs. CHE Probable Playing XIs

PUN: Mayank Agarwal(c), Shikhar Dhawan, Jonny Bairstow / Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma(w), Shahrukh Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Nathan Ellis, Rahul Chahar, Vaibhav Arora, Arshdeep Singh

CHE: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Robin Uthappa, Ambati Rayudu, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja(c), MS Dhoni(w), Dwaine Pretorius, Dwayne Bravo, Mitchell Santner, Maheesh Theekshana, Mukesh Choudhary

Match Prediction

Chennai will be the favourites in this match but Punjab will give a tight fight. Expect a great contest at Wankhede.

Top Fantasy Picks

Liam Livingstone is one such player who can change the complexation of the match. Be it with the ball or with the bat, the English all-rounder got tremendous skill and form to change things for his favour.

Robin Uthappa is a must pick. He’s doing the job day in and day out and playing his role perfectly. He’s scoring quick and some important runs for the team.

Rahul Chahar is someone that you simply can’t leave behind. He is the heartbeat of their bowling line-up and he’s expected to damage Chennai’s momentum.

Mukesh Choudhary has changed everything about Chennai. The player was trolled for his poor performance but in the last two matches, he has bowled brilliantly and has made a difference with the ball in his hand.

Risky Captaincy Choice

Ruturaj Gaikwad needs to do much better but the boy has tremendous will power and that will help him succeed. Captaining him will be a big risk but if he gets going, he can create a real difference.

Suggested Playing XI Real11 Fantasy Cricket

Team - 1

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