Gujarat Titans vs Punjab Kings Weather Forecast And Pitch Report, IPL 2022, Match 48, GT vs PBKS. A confident Gujarat Titans would be up against the Punjab Kings in the 48th game of the Indian Premier League 2022 on 03 May 2022 at 7:30 pm in Dr. DY Patil Sports Academy, Mumbai, India. The Gujarat Titans come here with a convincing win against the Royal Challengers Bangalore and look in excellent shape.
The Punjab Kings on the other hand went down against Lucknow Super Giants in their previous game. At present, Gujarat Titans are in the 1st position with 16 points from 8 wins in 9 games and Punjab Kings are in the 7th position with 8 points from 4 wins in 9 games.
Gujarat Titans have so far lost just once in the nine games they have played. A berth in the playoffs is guaranteed for the side and they would be able to play freely in this game. The Punjab Kings have struggled with their bowling and the form of their lower-middle order. It remains to be seen whether the Punjab Kings can cause the biggest upsets of the season in this game.
The dream run in the season continues for Hardik Pandya’s side. It was a clinical performance from the Gujarat Titans side in the last game against the Royal Challengers Bangalore where they won by 6 wickets. With 16 points the top placed side has earned itself a place in the playoffs and shall look to build on the winning momentum. They had defeated the Punjab Kings earlier in the tournament and Hardik Pandya would like to repeat the same here.
Keeper Wriddhiman Saha has done well and punched above his weight and form a good opening pair with in-form Shubman Gill. In the middle order, the side would look for runs from Hardik Pandya and Sai Sudharsan. It is the lower middle order that makes this a dangerous batting line-up where David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, and Rashid Khan have won games for the side from impossible positions.
Mohammed Shami had a poor day at the office in the last game, but he has bowled good lines in the IPL 2022 season. He will aim to strike early with Pradeep Sangwan who was brilliant in this first game of the season. Rashid Khan and Lockie Ferguson add punch to the bowling. The side would want better spells from Alzarri Joseph who seems to be the only weak link in the bowling attack.
Punjab Kings went down against the Lucknow Super Giants in their last game by 20 runs, their third loss in the last four games. They need to get a move on from here to keep their hopes alive for a berth in the next round. They will need a strong performance from their batsmen and bowlers as they take on the strongest side of the season.
The side would rely on a good start from openers Mayank Agarwal and Shikhar Dhawan who have played well in the tournament. The middle-order batters need to deliver and the experienced trio of Liam Livingstone, Jonny Bairstow, and Bhanuka Rajapaksa must play well in this must-win game. Rishi Dhawan needs to add quick runs down the order with Jitesh Sharma for the side to challenge the confident Gujarat Titans.
Pacers Sandeep Sharma and Arshdeep Singh have used the new ball well and it will be a big test for them against the Gujarat Titans. Kagiso Rabada will have the most important role here as their most experienced bowler. The rest of the bowling attack hasn’t had the best tournament so far and the side would need an exceptional performance from Liam Livingstone, Rishi Dhawan, and Rahul Chahar to deliver a blow to Gujarat Titans.
Gujarat Titans vs Punjab Kings Weather Forecast And Pitch Report, IPL 2022, Match 48, GT vs PBKS
The weather prediction for Mumbai is for clear skies on May 3 and the conditions would be hot and humid. A good batting surface is expected as seen since the start of the season. The bowlers will need to use their variations to be successful on this surface. A score of 180 or more would be on the mind of the side batting first in this game.
According to weather.com, the temperature on the night of May 3 (Tuesday) will be 29 degrees Celcius, while humidity will be 80%. The sky will be clear while the chances of precipitation will be 7%.
Dr. DY Patil Sports Academy has been a high-scoring venue where batsmen have excelled on a flat wicket and a fast outfield. Hitting through the line is easy against the fast bowlers who have little margin for error. Spinners have done considerably well as the ball turns sharply on this track.
The wicket has been slightly challenging to bat on at the start of the game and chasing scores here is always a better option. Many sides have lost games after putting up a lot of runs on the board. Hence, the side winning the toss in this game would have little hesitation in opting to bowl first.