Punjab Kings won the toss and decided to bat first against Gujarat Titans at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur, Chandigarh in the Indian Premier League 2024 match number 37 on Sunday. (Follow Live | Full IPL Coverage)
The Kings are again being led by Sam Curran in the absence of regular captain Shikhar Dhawan who continues to nurse an injury. PBKS are playing with the same team.
GT skipper Shubman Gill said he was anyway looking to bowl. The Titans have brought back Afghan all-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai into the side in place of Australian pacer Spencer Johnson.
Playing XI
Punjab Kings: Sam Curran (c), Prabhsimran Singh, Rilee Rossouw, Liam Livingstone, Shashank Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Ashutosh Sharma, Harpreet Brar, Harshal Patel, Kagiso Rabada, Arshdeep Singh
Impact Subs: Rahul Chahar, Vidhwath Kaverappa, Atharva Taide, Harpreet Singh Bhatia, Shivam Singh
Gujarat Titans: Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Shubman Gill (c), David Miller, Azmatullah Omarzai, Shahrukh Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Noor Ahmad, Sandeep Warrier, Mohit Sharma
Impact Subs: Sai Sudharsan, Sharath BR, Manav Suthar, Darshan Nalkande, Vijay Shankar
Their campaigns wobbling after a string of defeats, both these bottom-rung teams are desperate to arrest the slide and get back to winning ways
Former champions GT have slipped to eighth position in the pecking order after an embarrassing loss to Delhi Capitals at home, where they were bowled out for 89 to suffer their third defeat in four matches.
PBKS are struggling in the ninth place following a nine-run loss to Mumbai Indians Thursday night, the margin of defeat made respectable by an incredible rearguard act by the in-form young duo of Ashutosh Sharma and Shashank Singh after the team was tottering at 14/4 in a chase of 193.
The only silver lining for PBKS this season has been resolute displays from their unsung Indian players Shashank and Ashutosh, who both bat lower in the order and have had to make up for the shortcomings at the top on more than one occasion, including their heroics that gave MI a massive scare the other night.
PBKS' opponents GT, who have so far registered three wins while suffering four defeats, will need to pull up their socks after the horror show with the bat against Delhi Capitals.
(With PTI Inputs)
