Gujarat Titans vs Punjab Kings: Clash of canny bowlers and power-hitters

Gujarat Titans have won all their games in this campaign so far.

Mayank Agarwal Punjab Kings have won two of the three matches played so far. The team is coming after defeating Chennai Super Kings in the previous match. England's all-rounder Liam Livingstone's inclusion in the team has come as one of the biggest positives from the last match. He impressed everyone with his all-round knock against CSK. Punjab has great batting depth and power hitters in their squad, which will be the main highlight of today's match. Their bowling looks relatively weak, but the way they defended in the last match would bring great confidence to the bowlers.

On the other hand, Hardik Pandya led the Gujarat Titans and had a good start in the tournament, coming with two consecutive wins on the trot. Bhanuka Rajapaksa looks to be a very bright prospect for the team but might get replaced by Jonny Bairstow for his maiden match in the tournament. Shubhman Gill looks to be in hot form and will be looking forward to carrying forward his form from the previous match. The team will heavily rely on their bowlers Mohammed Shami, Rashid Khan and Lockie Ferguson. They haven't lost a match yet in the tournament and will be looking to carry forward their winning streak.

Pitch Report

Batters will be able to score on the pitch and pile up a good amount of runs. The team winning the toss will be looking for a chase.

Predicted Playing XI

Punjab Kings: Jonny Bairstow, Shikhar Dhawan, Liam Livingstone, Mayank Agarwal (c), Shahrukh Khan, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Kagiso Rabada, Odean Smith, Vaibhav Arora, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh

Gujarat Titans: Matthew Wade (wk), Shubman Gill, Hardik Pandya (c), Vijay Shankar, Rahul Tewatia, David Miller, Rashid Khan, Abhinav Manohar, Varun Aaron, Lockie Ferguson, Mohammed Shami

Stats to keep an eye on

• Gujrat Titans' new-ball specialist Mohammed Shami has had a difficult time against Punjab Punjab Kings opener Shikhar Dhawan in the T20s. Across 11 innings and 66 balls, Shikhar Dhawan has taken him for 103 runs without being dismissed. 
• Three spinners have got Shubman Gill out twice each - the most - in the IPL. Rahul Chahar has dismissed Shubhman Gill twice in three innings in the IPL, and thus Punjab Kings might use their leg spinner early on as an attacking gamble.
• This season, Punjab Kings have smashed 33 sixes, the second-most behind Rajasthan Royals' 36. Meanwhile, the opposition captain Hardik Pandya is just one six away from 100 IPL sixes.

Punjab Kings boast the highest powerplay run rate of all teams this season - 10.94 and Gujarat Titans have the best bowling average of 10.71 and the second-best economy rate of 6.25 - in the same phase. Therefore, it will be a contest of fearsome hitting of Punjab Kings and incisive bowling attack of Gujarat Titans.