Gujarat Titans v Punjab Kings: IPL 2022 match preview

The Cricketer takes a look at the next fixture in the 2022 Indian Premier League season

What's the match?

Gujarat Titans take on Punjab Kings in the Indian Premier League.

When is it taking place?

The match will be played on Tuesday, May 3 with the first ball will be bowled at 7.30pm local time (3pm GMT).

Where is the match being played?

It will be held at the Dr DY Patil Sports Academy in Mumbai.

Who's got the form?

Gujarat Titans have enjoyed a remarkable first campaign as an IPL franchise, sitting top of the tree having lost just once in nine games so far. Ironically, their closest challengers - Lucknow Super Giants - are the other new side in the competition.

Punjab have been extremely watchable since settling on an ultra-aggressive strategy with the bat, but they have struggled in recent fixtures: on Friday, they fell 20 runs short of facing Lucknow's 153, but they won their previous match by making 187 for 4 batting first against Chennai Super Kings.

Gujarat, meanwhile, come into this on the back of a six-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bangalore on Saturday, with Rahul Tewatia and David Miller combining to put on an unbroken 79-run stand for the fifth wicket. They chased 195 two days earlier, thanks in the main to Rashid Khan's 11-ball 31 outdoing Umran Malik's five-wicket haul.

^{Liam Livingstone will be key for Punjab (Randy Brooks/AFP via Getty Images)}

What's the key match-up?

Rashid is Gujarat's key man, especially against a team with such a powerful middle order. Jonny Bairstow hasn't caught fire yet, while Liam Livingstone has gone off the boil in recent games since smashing 60 against Sunrisers a fortnight ago. In the return fixture, Livingstone smashed 64 off just 27 balls.

For Punjab, breaking through Gujarat's top six is key: Miller, Tewatia and Rashid have all won games in the finishing role, while Wriddhiman Saha and Shubman Gill are a solid opening pair and Hardik Pandya has done a fine job in charge as captain.

Head-to-head record

Matches played: 1

Gujarat Titans wins: 1

Punjab Kings wins: 0

What's the weather forecast?

Temperatures will again hover around the 33 degrees Celsius mark at the start of play.

What are the squads?

Gujarat Titans: Hardik Pandya, Shubman Gill, Rashid Khan, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Mohammad Shami, Lockie Ferguson, Abhinav Sadarangani, Rahul Tewatia, Noor Ahmad, R Sai Kishore, Dominic Drakes, Jayant Yadav, Viijay Shankar, Darshan Nalkande, Yash Dayal, Alzarri Joseph, Prandeep Sangwan, David Miller, Wriddhiman Saha, Matthew Wade, Gurkeerat Singh, Varun Aaron

Punjab Kings: Mayank Agarwal, Arshdeep Singh, Shikhar Dhawan, Kagiso Rabada, Jonny Bairstow, Rahul Chahar, Shahrukh Khan, Harpreet Brar, Prabhsimran Singh, Jitesh Sharma, Ishan Porel, Liam Livingstone, Odean Smith, Sandeep Sharma, Raj Bawa, Rishi Dhawan, Prerak Mankad, Vaibhav Arora, Writtick Chatterjee, Baltej Dhanda, Ansh Patel, Nathan Ellis, Atharva Taide, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Benny Howell

What are the possible starting XIs?

Gujarat Titans: Shubman Gill, Wriddhiman Saha, Sai Sudharshan, Hardik Pandya, David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Pradeep Sangwan, Alzarri Joseph, Lockie Ferguson, Mohammed Shami

Punjab Kings: Mayank Agarwal, Shikhar Dhawan, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Jonny Bairstow, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma, Rishi Dhawan, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Sandeep Sharma, Arshdeep Singh

^{Rashid Khan has played a major role in Gujarat's success (Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)}

What are the odds?

Gujarat Titans are the favourites to win this match, with odds of 13/16. Punjab Kings are available at 11/10.

What's the prediction?

Gujarat Titans have only lost once in their debut year and are eight points ahead of tomorrow's opposition, so they go in as favourites.

Where can I watch the game?

In the UK, Sky Sports have exclusive rights to this year's tournament, with matches available on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Cricket.

Fans in India can watch all of the action on Star Sports.

Elsewhere in the world, viewers in Australia can watch the IPL on Fox Sports while in New Zealand, Sky Sport will provide coverage.

Willow TV and Flow Sports will broadcast the tournament in the United States and the Caribbean, respectively.

Fans in MENA can catch the action on beIN Sports while in South Africa, SuperSport have the rights.

The IPL can also be streamed on Disney+ and Hotstar in certain areas.