Inconsistent teams get another shot to deliver on their promise

After a hat-trick of defeats at their new home, Punjab Kings would be looking to wrap up the Mullanpur leg with a win against an inconsistent Gujarat Titans on Sunday (April 21) night.

All of Punjab's three defeats - since Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma combined to stun Titans in Ahmedabad in the reverse fixture - have been last-over losses, giving an illusion of form and/or control. Unfortunately, Punjab have lacked both, and the close contests have largely been down to the nerveless hitting of the aforementioned pair. Of the 1172 runs scored by PBKS batters this season, 343 have been scored by Shashank and Ashutosh (29.26%) despite having largely batted at No. 6, 7 or 8.

The likes of Prabhsimran Singh and Jitesh Sharma have flopped consistently. Sam Curran has only a half-century knock and four single-digit scores in seven games while Liam Livingstone also hasn't spent much time in the middle. In the injury-forced absence of their regular skipper Shikhar Dhawan, Punjab went on to drop out-of-form Jonny Bairstow as well giving out a rather unsettled vibe despite having not chopped much this season.

Titans have similar top-order woes with their new captain, Shubman Gill, being the only half-centurion in the top-five and some semblance of consistency from Sai Sudharsan. Titans and Punjab, in fact occupy the last -two spots respectively among all teams in terms of contributions from their top-five. However unlike ninth-placed GT, PBKS lead the charts when it comes to the batting returns of their no. 6 to 8 - an average of 39.75 with two half-centuries, one each for Shashank and Ashutosh.

After folding for a miserly 89 in their last outing, despite the return of injured David Miller, GT consequently slipped to eighth in the points table. Despite having two more points than their Sunday opponents, Titans have blown hot and cold with no back-to-back wins to boast of. Both teams will be desperate for a turnaround as they kick off the second half of their frail campaigns in this battle of equals.

When: PBKS vs GT, Match 37 on April 21 at 19:30 hours

Where: Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, Mullanpur, New Chandigarh

What to expect: Jasprit Bumrah and Gerald Coetzee's PowerPlay success reiterated the fact that pacers have enjoyed this wicket far more than spinners in IPL 2024 with 47 wickets in four games going to the quicks. Chasing has been the captain's preferred choice, although teams batting second have a success rate of 50 per cent only at this venue.

Head to head: 2-all. Interestingly, each of the four matches between these two sides have been won by the chasing team, with three of them going right down to the wire.

Teams Watch

Punjab Kings

Injuries/Availability: Dhawan is still unavailable due to his shoulder injury, and did not come for the team's pre-match training session. His absence will likely continue to be a lifeline for a woefully out-of-form Prabhsimran Singh, who bats in top order. Alternatively, they could swap him for left-handed Atharva Taide, who was given one chance and then dropped immediately in a "tactical call".

Tactics & Matchups: Wriddhiman Saha only averages 16.4 in PowerPlays in IPL 2024 and has been dismissed five times in this phase. Moreover, Kagiso Rabada has great success against Saha in IPL, dismissing the batter four times albeit he's batted against the South African at a strike-rate of 150.

Probable XI: Prabhsimran Singh/Atharva Taide, Rilee Rossouw, Sam Curran (C), Liam Livingstone, Shashank Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Ashutosh Sharma, Harpreet Brar, Harshal Patel, Kagiso Rabada, Arshdeep Singh [Impact sub: Harpreet Bhatia]

Gujarat Titans

Injuries/Availability: No injuries to report in the Titans' camp.

Tactics & Matchups: Livingstone vs Rashid Khan is an interesting sub-plot in this contest. While the destructive English bater boasts of a mighty impressive strike-rate of 172+ against the spinner, Rashid has dismissed him four times in T20 cricket.

Probable XI:Shubman Gill (c), Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Sai Sudharsan, Abhinav Manohar, David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Mohit Sharma, Noor Ahmad/Azmatullah Omarzai, Spencer Johnson, Sandeep Warrier [Impact sub: Shahrukh Khan/Sai Kishore]

Did you know?

- Shubman Gill needs 14 runs to complete 500 against Punjab Kings

- Sam Curran has picked up seven wickets in eight overs he's bowled at death in IPL 2024

- David Miller has a staggering average of 61.10, and strike-rate 142.75, while chasing since IPL 2021