Punjab against formidable Bangalore in must win game (Preview)

The scenic Dharamsala stadium will witness a battle between the two sides in pursuit of altogether a different scenario. A win to Bangalore will give visiting side a unassailable position at the top of the IPL standings and Punjab victory would mean the side getting a step closer to play-offs which looked a distant reality three matches ago.

For Bangalore topping the table would have them not playing do or die semi-final but one, despite a loss, which give them another chance to make it to the summit clash. Adam Gilchrist led side, on the other hand, will have to win both its remaining matches to be part of play-off lineup. They will have to wait for other results though. In all likelihood, there will be a toss between Punjab and Kolkata for the fourth spot with Bangalore, Mumbai and Chennai remaining ones.

It has been one hell of a journey for Bangalore starting the season with a win following it with three consecutive losses.The three losses, though, seem to have been confronted in the distant past as Bangalore have literally rolled past their opponents in the last seven games.

There is a one man who has stolen the thunder turning out to be the main architect of seven consecutive Bangalore victories that goes by the name of Chris Gayle. The West Indian national team discard who was also not picked up in the IPL auction earlier this year has been a revelation impacting the format and his team fortunes big time. What has made left hander very dangerous is his ability to take game away from the opponents even he stays at the crease for a brief period. His hitting has been phenomenal and made bowlers look very ordinary deserved holder of an Orange Cap.

Then, there has been Virat Kohli who hasn’t let team down as youngster is leading the team with lot of charisma and patience reaping dividends in the absence of Daniel Vettori who is nursing a leg injury.  Mature than his age, Kohli looks to have in him to stake claim for Indian captaincy as well in the future. Bowlers, Zaheer Khan in particular, have also come trumps in business end of the tournament which augurs well for a already richly talented power house batting lineup to make it one champion side.

Punjab have had everything in this tournament so far. Dubbed as the weakest team prior to the start of the tournament, Punjab didn’t seem to be bothered by inauspicious tag winning their three out of their first four games but their fortunes nose-dived as the tournament progressed only get their campaign back on the track with three consecutive wins to find them themselves very much in the contention for a place in the play-offs.

What is good about Punjab performance in the recent past that it has come without any major contribution from Gilly with the bat but likes of Shaun Marsh, Paul Valthaty and Dinesh Karthik have come to the party making side look a formidable one in the crunch time. The egging up or call it a motivational  speeches from team co-owner Priety Zinta has also instilled a kind of belief and confidence among that has, all of a sudden, raised their game to the next level.  Bowlers are chipping in at the crucial stages with Praveen Kumar, Bhargav Bhat and Piyush Chawla emerging as lead performers.

Having said that, it will be difficult for Punjab to snap Gayle led Juggernaut and if Punjab want to surprise Bangalore Gilchrist have to match Gayle’s heroics with the bat.

Players who can make impact…

Adam Gilchrist….Except for odd cameo here and there, Punjab skipper is yet to set IPL on fire. He is yet to produce Gilly-like masterclass this season. Make no mistake, if anyone can match Gayle’s firepower with the bat in the Punjab camp it is none other than captain himself. He would be keen to get some runs for his team when it demanded the most.

Piyush Chawla…Leg spinner hasn’t been in his best of forms with the ball in the tournament but lately he taken some crucial wickets for his team without hit for many runs. Chawla’s four overs in the middle overs can well turn out to be deciding one.

SQUAD

Abhishek Nayar, Adam Gilchrist (c)(wk), Amit Yadav, Bhargav Bhatt, Bipul Sharma, David Hussey, David Miller, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Love Ablish, Mandeep Singh, Nathan Rimmington, Nitin Saini, Paras Dogra, Paul Valthaty, Piyush Chawla, Praveen Kumar, Ryan Harris, Shalabh Srivastava, Shaun Marsh, Siddharth Chitnis, Sunny Singh, Vikramjeet Malik, Ryan McLaren.

Players who can make impact...

Chris Gayle…He richly deserves the adulations he is getting from cricket pundits. He is single-handedly changed the Bangalore set-up taking stuffing out of opposition bowlers in early overs. His monstrous hits have give crowd lot to entertain about and he has undisputedly made him the batsman of the tournament. If Gayle has another field day in the office, Punjab chances of making it to the play-offs will evaporate under his onslaught.

AB de Villiers…Talented batsman from South Africa hasn’t spent much time in the middle while batting thanks to Gayle and Kohli’s super performance with the bat. Right hander will be itching to get one big innings before the play-offs and Punjab bowling unit might turn out to be unlucky one.

SQUAD

AB de Villiers, Abhimanyu Mithun,Abrar Kazi,Arun Karthik,Asad Pathan,BN Barath,Charl Langeveldt,Cheteshwar Pujara, Daniel Vettori (c),Dirk Nannes,Johan van der Wath, Jonathan Vandiar,Luke Pomersbach,Mayank Agarwal,Mohammad Kaif,Muralidharen Gautam,Nuwan Pradeep,Raju Bhatkal,Rilee Rossouw,Ryan Ninan,Saurabh Tiwary, Sreenath Aravind, Tillakaratne Dilshan (withdrawn player) ,Virat Kohli, Zaheer Khan.