Venue: Sharjah Cricket Ground, Sharjah
Time: 3:30 PM IST
Average score at venue: 168
Win percentage while batting first: 42.55%
Pitch Conditions:
- Unlike last year when Indian T20 League teams were notching up big scores at the Sharjah Cricket Ground with tremendous ease and frequency, it has been a challenge for teams that are batting first in particular since they have lost 3 out of 4 matches played so far.
- Fast bowlers have a wicket-share percentage of 66.97% compared to 33.03% for the spin bowlers at the Sharjah Cricket Ground.
Weather prediction:
While it will remain mostly cloudy on Sunday afternoon in Sharjah, teams will have to deal with extreme temperatures. The mercury will rise up as high as 38°C around the noon time and will gradually drop down to 35°C or maybe 34°C towards the end of the contest. On the brighter side, players will have to deal with lesser humidity levels of under 50%.
HEAD-TO-HEAD RECORD:
Matches played: 27
Team Bangalore won: 12
Team Punjab won: 15
No result: –
Last 5 matches:
Team Bangalore won: 2
Team Punjab won: 3
No result: –
Top 3 players from Team Bangalore: Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, Yuzvendra Chahal
Top 3 players from Team Punjab: KL Rahul, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh
Top picks for H2H/WTA contest (top 5 players each):
Top 5 players from from Team Bangalore: Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, Yuzvendra Chahal, AB de Villiers, Harshal Patel
Top 5 players from Team Punjab: KL Rahul, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammad Shami, Mayank Agarwal
Q&A:
Should I pick more bowlers, batsmen or all-rounders?
It is a contest between two teams who have a lot of promise but only one of them has been able to live up to the expectations so far. Virat Kohli’s Team Bangalore may have done just about enough to qualify for the Indian T20 League 2021 play-offs — their position yet to be confirmed, but it is KL Rahul’s Team Punjab, who are in a race against time in order to make it to the knockouts round. Bangalore are currently placed at the 3rd spot in the Indian T20 League 2021 points table with 14 points in 11 matches, which is certainly far better when compared to Team Punjab’ 10 points in 12 matches. Given that both the teams have batsmen who are in form and have been performing well, it will be wise to add more to the batting strength since teams batting second have been able to finish on the right side of the results at Sharjah more often than not.
From which team should I pick more players in my XI? Which team is stronger?
It is a contest between two teams that have some of their key players in form but in the case of Team Punjab, a lot is yet to be desired. The reason why Team Punjab are currently placed 5th in the points table is because they have not been able to put up a unified performance on a consistent basis, something that is in a way a necessary requirement for teams who finish in the final four. While Bangalore have the likes of Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, AB de Villiers and a few others performing with the bat on a consistent basis, in the Team Punjab camp only KL Rahul can be described as consistent. Bangalore also have some of the best bowlers who are in form — with Harshal Patel leading the pack and the list of most wicket-takers in this Indian T20 League — they should have more players featuring in the playing XI in fantasy cricket.
MORE INFORMATION: Team Punjab will face an uphill challenge to get the better of an in-form and on-song Team Bangalore team who have done extremely well so far in the season in the 11 matches that they have played. Despite the fact that Team Punjab have a better bilateral record against Bangalore. Team Punjab would certainly want to draw confidence from their spirited victory against Kolkata Knight Riders, to whom they handed a comprehensive defeat by 5 wickets. There have been a few changes in the Team Punjab’ batting order given that Chris Gayle has left the tournament after featuring almost consistently in the initial matches of the second leg of Indian T20 League 2021.
Players’ form: Team Bangalore have an army of batsmen who are promising great returns in the remaining matches for the team seeking their first Indian T20 League title. Kohli forms a dangerous opening partnership with Devdutt Padikkal, and the biggest gain for Bangalore this season has been the form of Maxwell, who has batted with tremendous freedom, application and intent to garner most runs for the franchise in Indian T20 League 2021. On the other hand, Team Punjab will be pleased with the fact that Mayank Agarwal was able to join his opening mate KL Rahul at the top, as these two batsmen carry the bulk of hopes of putting totals on board or even when they are chasing. With Gayle leaving the tournament, the onus will also be on another Caribbean player in Nicolas Pooran to step up and perform
Changes in squad (if any): NO
LIKELY XIs:
Team Bangalore (Bangalore): Virat Kohli (c), Devdutt Padikkal, Srikar Bharat (wk), Glenn Maxwell, AB de Villiers, Daniel Christian, George Garton, Shahbaz Ahmed, Harshal Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammed Siraj.
Team Punjab (Punjab): KL Rahul (c&wk), Mayank Agarwal, Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, Shahrukh Khan, Deepak Hooda, Fabian Allen, Nathan Ellis, Mohammed Shami, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh
FANTASY XI: Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (c&wk), Mayank Agarwal, Glenn Maxwell (vc), AB de Villiers, Shahrukh Khan, Yuzvendra Chahal, Harshal Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammad Shami
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Bangalore look to consolidate position against Punjab
Team Bangalore, who have won their last two Indian T20 League 2021 matches in comprehensive manner, will look to carry on with their juggernaut and solidify their position in the Indian T20 League 2021 points table wherein they are currently placed at third position with 14 points in 11 matches.
Bangalore, however, will face a spirited Team Punjab side who have dominated the recent meetings between them. In the last 5 matches played between Bangalore and Punjab, the Team Punjab team have won each of the last 3 games that these two teams have locked horns in.
On the other hand, Bangalore have been the most successful team among these two in this Indian T20 League and they seem to have figured out their best team combination with Shahbaz Ahmed coming in and making an impact once again. Bangalore have 7 victories and 4 defeats from 11 matches giving them 14 points but a negative Net Run Rate (NRR) of -0.200, which is slightly better than Team Punjab’, who have -0.236 in 12 matches, having won 5 and lost 7.
With Gayle leaving the tournament, Punjab were able to bring in the likes of Fabian Allen and Shahrukh Khan, who both are finishers by nature and bat aggressively lower in the order. Their inclusion should solidify a struggling Team Punjab batting line-up, which has for far too long depended on the likes of Rahul and Agarwal.
For more reasons than one, Team Punjab’ bowling line-up looks more promising than their batting attack, with the likes of uncapped players in Ravi Bishnoi and Arshdeep Singh making a huge impact with the bat in the company of Mohammad Shami.
