Time: September 24, 7:30 PM IST
Venue: Dubai International Cricket Stadium
Pitch report
In the two games we have had at this venue, the average first and second innings scores read 160 and 155 respectively. Thus far we have witnessed five spectacular fifties, a great display of pace bowling, and a wily spell of leg-spin bowling. While the first match ended in a Super Over, the second contest was a last-over thriller that the chasing team should have pulled off.
The pitch has all the ingredients to produce another electrifying encounter.
Power players
Mayank Agarwal’s innings last Sunday was a purist’s delight. On a pitch that saw batsmen struggling to score runs, Agarwal held his nerves and stuck to his strengths. There was no wild slog or an ugly heave. He watched the ball closely and upped the ante once he was set to go full throttle. The result was a gem of an innings of 89 runs off 60 balls.
Devdutt Padikkal didn’t seem like he was playing in his maiden IPL match. He took a slow yet swaggering walk towards the pitch, showing no signs of jitters. However, once the ball met his bat, you could sense the grace in his batting – so much so that he reduced the devastating Aaron Finch to second fiddle. His fifty set a solid foundation for a big score.
AB de Villiers is like an old wine that gets only better with age. Despite not playing enough competitive cricket compared to his contemporaries, he did not look out of touch. It was his 30-ball 51 that took Bangalore to a competitive total. In the previous season against Punjab, he had scores of 59* off 38 and 82* off 44.
One of Virat Kohli’s five hundreds in the Indian T20 League came against Punjab. He didn’t have the best of starts to the season, but he will always be the MVP in online fantasy cricket.
KL Rahul played attractive shots in his 21-run innings including two fours and a six. He will be up against his three India teammates: Yuzvendra Chahal, Umesh Yadav, and Navdeep Saini.
Smart picks
Had it not been for Yuzvendra Chahal’s fine bowling, the result would not have gone in Bangalore’s favour. Two of his three wickets were of the well-set Jonny Bairstow and Manish Pandey. To put things perspective, he will always be Kohli’s strike bowler, making him valuable in fantasy league app.
There aren’t many pacers as watchable as Mohammad Shami. It’s difficult to pick which way the ball will swing, making him a tough bowler to counterattack. He finished with figures of 3 for 15, while his bowling partner Sheldon Cottrell sniped up 2 for 24.
Navdeep Saini is slowly becoming a player to watch out for. Not only does he have the raw pace but also often hits the right lines.
Probable XIs
Punjab: KL Rahul (c & wk), Mayank Agarwal, Karun Nair, Nicholas Pooran, Glenn Maxwell, Sarfaraz Khan, K Gowtham, Chris Jordan, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Shami, Sheldon Cottrell
Bangalore: Devdutt Padikkal, Aaron Finch, Virat Kohli (c), AB de Villiers, Josh Philippe (wk)/Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Dale Steyn. Umesh Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Yuzvendra Chahal