Indian T20 League 2022: Match 38- Punjab vs Chennai- Preview, Playing XIs, Pitch Report & Updates

Punjab will lock horns with Chennai in the 38th encounter of the Indian T20 League 2022. The Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai will host the match on the 25th of April. The two teams have had similar seasons so far. Punjab have played seven games in the season, winning just three games. They stand eighth in the standings. Chennai is right below in the ninth place with two wins in seven games.

Team Updates

Punjab

Punjab have lost their last two games comprehensively. Against Hyderabad, they lost the match by seven wickets while against Delhi, they were restricted to just 115 runs in the first innings. Eventually, Delhi chased down the target with nine balls to spare. The men in red will have to leave behind the horrors of last two outings and bring out their A-game.

Despite having a decent bowling lineup, Punjab have not been able to get the best results in the season. Kagiso Rabada, the team's top fast bowler, has only taken seven wickets in six matches. He, along with others, will have to be more attacking with the ball to get good results. Punjab's batting, on the other hand, has been decent. However, they will have to be more consistent in the upcoming matches.

Players to watch out for

Mayank Agarwal- Mayank Agarwal, who returned to the playing XI in the last match, looked good but could not carry on. He would want to stay long enough at the wicket to help Punjab reach a big score.

Rahul Chahar- Rahul Chahar is the only Punjab bowler who has had a good 2022 season. He has picked up 10 wickets in the season at an economy of 7.3. He would like to keep his form and lead his team to wins in upcoming games.

Probable Playing XI

Mayank Agarwal (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Jonny Bairstow, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Shahrukh Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Nathan Ellis, Rahul Chahar, Vaibhav Arora/Rishi Dhawan, Arshdeep Singh

Chennai

The defending champions, Chennai have had a forgetful season this year. They have underperformed throughout the season, which has kept them at the ninth place in the points table. Their bowling, especially, has been below par as they have not been able to take wickets. Their last match against Mumbai, however, was different as the bowlers did well to restrict Mumbai to just 155.

The men in yellow will have to keep this performance intact in the upcoming matches to stand a chance to qualify for the playoffs. Ravindra Jadeja will not look to make any changes to their winning combination from the previous match.

Players to watch out for

Mukesh Choudhary- Chennai's rising talent, Mukesh Choudhary was brilliant with the ball in the match against Mumbai. He picked up three wickets rattle Mumbai's top order. He won the man of the match as well. The 25-year old has also taken seven wickets in the six appearances for Chennai.

Robin Uthappa- This season, Robin Uthappa has displayed incredible determination, while the rest of the Chennai team has struggled. He has scored 227 runs at a strike rate of 147 in the seven innings. Uthappa will eyeing another decent performance in the coming game.

Probable Playing XI

Ruturaj Gaikwad, Robin Uthappa, Ambati Rayudu, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja (c), MS Dhoni (wk), Dwaine Pretorius, Dwayne Bravo, Mitchell Santner, Maheesh Theekshana, Mukesh Choudhary

Head to Head

Pitch Report

The wicket at the Wankhede Stadium is  good for the batters. However, the fast bowlers will enjoy some swing early on in the innings. The spinners will also have some say given the dry and slow nature of the wicket. Team winning the toss might bowl given the dew.

Match Details

Date- 25th April 2022

Time- 7:30 p.m (IST)

Venue- Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

Broadcast- Star Sports Network, Disney+ Hotstar