GT vs PBKS 17th Match Prediction

GT vs PBKS Team Previews

Gujarat Titans

The Gujarat Titans are in a good place on the IPL 2024 points table. They have won two out of their three matches, both of them in Ahmedabad, and are getting their team combinations right. We thought the addition of Noor Ahmad in their playing eleven was a good move and paid them a lot of dividends. Noor's presence makes Rashid Khan more deadly as well. 

With Mohit Sharma bowling brilliantly at the death, GT has some very good bowlers to call upon. We are still not very sure about the kind of performances you can expect from Azmatullah Omarzai and Umesh Yadav as both of them can be very expensive. 

On the batting front, Shubman Gill showed signs of good form and we feel a big score might be aroudn the corner. David Miller was brilliant while batting at number four but seemed to have picked up a niggle. His availbility is in question and if he is unavailable, it will be a big blow for GT. 

Sai Sudharsan has been excellent but depending on Vijay Shankar, Azmatullah Omarzai, and Rahul Tewatia to do too much is not something GT would want. As a bettor, we think you can be quietly optimistic about GT's chances in this match but recognize the weaknesses they have as well. 

Punjab Kings

The Punjab Kings have followed a pretty similar template in all of their matches so far. A strong opening stand, runs for Shikhar Dhawan at a middling strike rate, and then nothing much to follow. The batting performances have just not been as good as expected and a lot of it has to do with the utilization of resources. 

Liam Livingstone continues to be pushed down and down in the batting order even when he is probably the most dangerous T20 player that PBKS has. Shikhar Dhawan is sort of playing the role that Virat Kohli is for RCB. Consistent but not fast enough for today's T20 cricket. 

Dhawan's innings give PBKS something to work with but leaves them vulnerable to an attacking batter from the opposition. In such a situation, Jonny Bairstow, Jitesh Sharma, and perhaps Sam Curran will all need to step up to build on the starts that they have been getting. 

The balance and the leadership of the PBKS team feels a bit off. We can also see the overseas players struggle against Rashid and Noor in the middle. 

The bowling attack for PBKS is one of the weakest in IPL 2024. Kagiso Rabada is not the force he was a few years ago, Arshdeep Singh seems to have regressed, and Rahul Chahar is struggling for any impact. Sam Curran is not someone that is going to run through sides in these conditions either.