Punjab Kings (PBKS) are sitting at the bottom of the top four, but their current form is such that they shouldn’t worry about dropping out of the safe zone. Like most of the teams, they haven’t seen much of a home advantage, having won two and lost as many at their home ground in Mullanpur. For the last stretch, they move to their second home in Dharamsala. But if they expect home woes to stop tailing them at the new venue, they need to have a look at their stats. The last time they won a game at the venue was in 2013, having lost all four of their matches across two seasons since then.
Despite winning three of their last four completed games, PBKS would want to worry a little as they gear up to host Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on Sunday. LSG have fairly split their wins and losses in 10 games, five each, and while they have three losses in four of their most recent fixtures, they can’t entirely be written off.
Team Overview:
Mitchell Marsh, Aiden Markram, and Nicholas Pooran have been the reason behind whatever success LSG have gathered this season. Of all teams, the LSG upper order averages the second-highest this year, and this holds true even when Pooran’s recent slump is accounted for. However, the middle order has hardly chipped in as generously. In fact, the difference between the averages of LSG’s top three and middle order is the third-highest this season, 17.1, which is marginally lower than PBKS. This means both teams have similar strong points. But LSG lack one thing more than PBKS, which might make the difference between both sides in this game, and that is the lack of mojo in their pacers, though Mayank Yadav’s return will shed that fear to a great extent.
The pace department is where PBKS are stacked. Arshdeep Singh, Marco Jansen, and Harpreet Brar form a pretty incisive pace attack, and while Azmatullah Omarzai has been nowhere near his best, conditions in Dharamsala can pull the trigger on him. Like LSG, PBKS have a sorted top three, made entirely of Indian talent, with Prabhsimran Singh, Priyansh Arya, and Shreyas Iyer. But again, like LSG, their middle order has also been volatile this season. For the longest time, the side has fretted over their Aussie finishers, with Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, and Josh Inglis not even doing enough for the side. With Maxwell now out of the tournament, PBKS can bring in Xavier Bartlett to bolster the pace attack as well as to fill their overseas quota.
Head-to-Head Record:
PBKS and LSG have faced off just five times, with PBKS managing two wins while LSG claimed victory in the other three.
Weather and Pitch Report:
Barring IPL games, Dharamsala hasn’t hosted any T20 matches. The last time an international T20 was played here was when India hosted Sri Lanka in two back-to-back games, which saw Shreyas Iyer score unbeaten 73 and 74 runs in both games. The venue offers help to batters but does not really rule the bowlers out either. Medium pacers are the key here, and overcast conditions will make sure that stays true. That said, batters can hope to get plenty of runs from going aerial, as they usually do at this venue.
Prediction:
It will be a tough competition between both sides, but PBKS are on a roll and they wouldn’t want it any other way, not just yet.
Where to Watch:
India: Star Sports Network, JioHotstar
UK: Sky Sports, SkyGo
USA: Willow TV
Australia: Kayo TV, FoxTel Go
Bangladesh: T Sports, Toffee app
New Zealand: Sky Sports NZ
Afghanistan: ATN
South Africa: SuperSport
Sri Lanka: Dialog
MENA: Cricbuzz
