Playing XI
Venue Insights (Sharjah)
Highest Team Total : 228/4 By Delhi Against Kolkata In 2020.
Lowest Team Total : 121/10 By Hyderabad Against Punjab In 2014
Highest Individual Score : 106 By Mayank Agarwal (Punjab) Against Rajasthan In 2020
Best Bowling Figures : 4/13 By Lakshmipathy Balaji (Punjab) Against Hyderabad In 2014.
Highest Partnership : 183 By KL Rahul And Mayank Agarwal (Punjab) For 1st Wicket Against Rajasthan In 2020.
Win Rate Batting First : 50% (5 Won; 5 Lost)
Top Fantasy Picks-Bowlers
So far Arshdeep Singh has managed to take 9 wickets in just 6 matches this season, thus he can be a player which comes cheaply in your fantasy teams and gives you great returns.
With 17 wickets Shami is the leader for Punjab with the ball. As context, Shami has never been wicket-less in his last 4 matches against Kolkata; picking up a wicket each in these matches.
Bowling figures of 1/30, 1/17 and 3/15 so far this season shows the kind of bowler Ferguson is and certainly is a player to watch out for.
Top Fantasy Picks-Batsmen and Keepers
The orange cap holder KL Rahul with 567 runs is certainly too big a player to miss out form anyone’s fantasy team.
Rana can be a good pick if he opens again today as in his 2 innings as an opener in the IPL, his scores are 81 (53) and 68 (47).
With scores of 57 and 65* in his last 2 matches against Punjab, Gill looks like a promising player. He also is the leading run-getter for Kolkata this season with 321 runs.
Probable XI
Kolkata : L Rahul (c/wk), Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle, Nicholas Pooran, Glenn Maxwell, Deepak Hooda, Chris Jordan, Ravi Bishnoi, Murugan Ashwin, Mohammed Shami and Arshdeep Singh.
Punjab : Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana, Rahul Tripathi, Eoin Morgan (c), Dinesh Karthik(wk), Sunil Narine, Pat Cummins, Lockie Ferguson, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Prasidh Krishna, Varun Chakravarthy
Preview
Final few games left in this season! It is match number 46, with Kolkata taking on Punjab in Sharjah. A win for Punjab would not only mean their 5th in a row, but also the 4th spot in the points table, currently occupied by Kolkata. Rahul's side is fresh from an improbable win against Hyderabad where they snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. The batting is not exactly clicking but someone or the other is managing to play a long innings. Their bowling is the main reason for their renaissance. Kolkata, on the other hand, have been inconsistent but were excellent against Delhi on Saturday. Narine's return just lifted the team's spirits and one witnessed a fabulous performance. Question marks still prevail over their batting but they seem to have more answers than Punjab. The last time these two teams met, Kolkata managed to win by 2 runs out of nowhere. The last 3 words seem to have become a friend of Punjab of late and they would be itching for revenge.
Toss : Punjab won the toss and elected to bowl first.