Venue: DY Patil Stadium (Dr DY Patil Sports Academy), Mumbai
Time: 7:30 PM IST
Average score at venue (1st inns): 148
Win percentage while batting first: 20%
Pitch conditions:
- Dr DY Patil Stadium, which is based in Navi Mumbai about 50kms from the heart of Mumbai, is the third venue in the megacity that will host the Indian T20 Cricket League 2022 matches this year.
- The venue last hosted an Indian T20 Cricket League match more than a decade ago (in 2011, Pune vs Kolkata) and it has not hosted any professional cricket match over this period.
- In fact, the ground hosted football matches over the last couple of years. The teams in the Indian T20 Cricket League 2022 will be walking into the unknown at least for the first few matches, before there is better understanding on the nature of the pitch and the overall field.
- Meanwhile, reports have claimed that the pitch will have something for both, fast bowlers and spinners whereas the long boundaries on the DY Patil Sports Academy field will challenge the batsmen.
Weather prediction:
It will be a bright and clear day in Navi Mumbai on Sunday with temperatures hitting a high of 35°C in the afternoon, with the mercury dropping down to 30°C and a little below that, after sunset during the match hours for the third clash of the tournament. The humidity levels will steadily rise past 60% on Sunday evening.
HEAD-TO-HEAD RECORD (overall):
Matches played: 28
Punjab won: 15
Bangalore won: 13
No result: -
Top 3 players from Punjab: Mayank Agarwal, Shikhar Dhawan, Liam Livingstone
Top 3 players from Bangalore: Faf du Plessis, V Kohlii, Harshal Patel
Top picks for H2H/WTA conTest (top 5 players each):
Top 5 players from Punjab: Mayank Agarwal, Shikhar Dhawan, Liam Livingstone, Shahrukh Khan, Arshdeep Singh
Top 5 players from Bangalore: Faf du Plessis, V Kohlii, Harshal Patel, Wanindu Hasaranga, Mahipal Lomror
Q & A:
Should I pick more bowlers, batsmen or all-rounders?
Punjab and Bangalore are two teams who will be very keen to put the right foot forward from the word go in this year’s Indian T20 Cricket League. Both Punjab and Bangalore have been in a way underachievers in the format, even though the latter has been able to feature in the knockout round for the last two years. With the mega auction, both Punjab and Bangalore have been able to overhaul their squads with new captains in place and the overall look being different.
They will start their campaign at DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Sunday evening, a venue that has not hosted any form of cricket for a very long period of time. It implies that the pitch and overall behaviour of the ground is something that teams are yet to understand and learn about, and going into the first game, they will want to trust their skills and abilities more rather than being influenced by the surface. Batsmen who are in form and fast bowlers who have the trait to exploit the unknown will be the key for constituting fantasy cricket playing XI.
From which team should I pick more players in my XI? Which team is stronger?
Both Punjab and Bangalore will be missing some of their key players in the initial few matches of the Indian T20 Cricket League 2022. For Punjab, the wait will be desperate to have wicketkeeper-batsman Jonny Bairstow link up with them. Bairstow has hit rich form recently in red-ball cricket and is currently in the Caribbean, involved in the ongoing three-Test series between England and the West Indies. Punjab will also be without their strike weapon Kagiso Rabada for the first game, who was busy in the ODI series at home against Bangladesh. On the other hand, Bangalore will be without Glenn Maxwell, who has recently got married, along with ace fast bowler Josh Hazlewood and Jason Behrendorff. Hazlewood and Behrendorff are expected to miss at least first three matches for Bangalore, which implies that at this juncture, it will not be fair to judge which team is stronger unless they have a full squad at their disposal.
MORE INFORMATION: Bairstow is likely to miss the first two matches for Punjab whereas Rabada will be expected to be available for selection from the second match onward. In case Punjab are able to go the distance in this tournament, the English wicketkeeper-batsman will once again be unavailable as he will have to head back home to attend national duties for a bilateral series against New Zealand in June. For Bangalore, they will have to wait until April 6 to have the likes of Hazlewood and Behrendorff joining their ranks as these two cricketers will be released by Australia only after their one-off T20 international against Pakistan at Lahore on April 5.
PLAYERS' FORM: Punjab and Bangalore can assess their overall firepower, standing as well as best combinations only when all of their chosen players are available for selection. To understand this better, the case of Hazlewood presents a perfect example since the lanky and world-class Australian fast bowler played a vital role for Chennai in their victorious campaign last year in the Indian T20 Cricket League, and he carried his rich form in the T20 World Cup which followed soon after, helping Australia lift the title. Among those who were present, Punjab expected rich returns from their captain Mayank Agarwal, Rahul Chahar, experienced campaigner Shikhar Dhawan, swashbuckling England all-rounder Liam Livingstone and hard-hitting batsman from Tamil Nadu, Shahrukh Khan.
On their part, Bangalore will expect fireworks from their former captain V Kohlii, experienced run-maker in the competition Faf du Plessis, Sri Lankan spin wizard Wanindu Hasaranga, experienced domestic cricketers such as Siddarth Kaul, Mahipal Lomror, Harshal Patel, Shahbaz Ahmed, Karn Sharma and even the talented Anuj Rawat.
Changes in squad (if any): NO
LIKELY XIs:
PUNJAB: Shikhar Dhawan, Mayank Agarwal (c), Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Liam Livingstone, Shahrukh Khan, Raj Bawa, Odean Smith, Harpreet Brar, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh, Sandeep Sharma.
BANGALORE: Faf du Plessis, Anuj Rawat (wk), V Kohlii, Finn Allen, Mahipal Lomror, Dinesh Karthik, Wanindu Hasaranga, Shahbaz Ahmed, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Siddharth Kaul.
FANTASY XI: Shikhar Dhawan (c), Mayank Agarwal, Faf du Plessis, V Kohlii, Mahipal Lomror, Anuj Rawat (wk), Shahrukh Khan, Liam Livingstone, Wanindu Hasaranga, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj/Sandeep Sharma.
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Punjab, Bangalore eye winning start to fresh season
Punjab and Bangalore will be wading into the unknown on Sunday evening when they take the field at the DY Patil sports Academy in Navi Mumbai, in Match No 3 of the ongoing Indian T20 Cricket League 2022 tournament.
The venue is all set to host Indian T20 Cricket League once again after more than 10 years, a gap in which it has also hosted football matches. The nature of the pitch, its behaviour and local conditions will be unknown for the two teams at least for the first match at this venue, which will host a total of 15 matches this year in the Indian T20 Cricket League 2022.
Both Punjab and Bangalore have undergone significant changes with their squad as well as leadership. While Punjab have bestowed the responsibility of captaincy on the shoulders of talented Indian batsman Mayank Agarwal, Bangalore were able to rope in Faf du Plessis, a former Chennai player and a great friend, school classmate, South African teammate of Bangalore legend AB de Villiers.
Talking about de Villiers, it was speculated that the South African would take over captaincy responsibility from Kohlii after the Indian stepped away from the role. But de Villiers announced retirement from the Indian T20 Cricket League as well, which means that Bangalore will be ushering into a new era, under the leadership of the new capital and without one of their all-time great batsmen.
Both Bangalore and Punjab will be without some of their preferred players who are currently busy with national assignments and will be able to join only after missing the first two matches at least.
For Punjab, it will be an opportunity to test their new talent on the bench which includes experienced Shikhar Dhawan, Liam Livingstone, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Shahrukh Khan, former Hyderabad bowler Sandeep Sharma, Australia's Nathan Ellis and South Africa's Rabada.
Despite being a consistent performer for India, Dhawan was not picked in the Indian side for last T20 World Cup and the left-handed opening batsmen will look to make the most of the opportunity in the Indian T20 Cricket League to showcase his worth once again.
Bangalore will be keen to demolish the perception of being a top heavy team with Anuj Rawat likely to team up with du Plessis at the top of the order followed by Kohlii at No 3.
Bangalore have made some very interesting selections in the form of Dinesh Karthik, explosive batsman Finn Allen, Wanindu Hasaranga, Chama Milind, Sherfane Rutherford and David Willey to name a few.
