Ranji Trophy 2018-19, Punjab vs Tamil Nadu – Dream11 Fantasy Cricket Tips

Two struggling teams in the Elite Group A and B, Punjab and Tamil Nadu will face off in the sixth round of the Ranji Trophy 2018-19 at the PCA Stadium in Mohali. Punjab, who earned seven points with a ten-wicket win against Delhi, lost by innings margin in their first home match of the season against Himachal Pradesh. However, against Tamil Nadu, Punjab will have the likes of Anmolpreet Singh, Shubman Gill and possibly Siddharth Kaul as well in the playing XI.

Tamil Nadu, on the other hand, are coming from a big win over Kerala which was their first outright win in a first-class match since December 2016. The team is bolstered by the return of Vijay Shankar who piled on runs in New Zealand recently. The already had the experience of Dinesh Karthik on their side who is looking to make a return to the Indian Test team. This game is more crucial for Tamil Nadu as they earned only 11 points from five matches so far while Punjab has nine points from four games.

Match Details:

The Ranji Trophy game between Punjab and Tamil Nadu will be played at the Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Cricket Stadium in Mohali.

The match starts on December 14th, 2018 at 9:30 AM IST (Local time) (4:00 AM GMT).

The game will be live on Star Sports 2 and Star Sports 2 HD. Streaming available on Hotstar.

Recent Form:

Punjab:

Conceded first innings lead in a draw against Andhra.

Conceded first innings lead in a draw against Madhya Pradesh.

Defeated Delhi by ten wickets.

Lost to Himachal by innings and 107 runs.

Tamil Nadu:

Unfinished first innings in a draw against Madhya Pradesh.

Unfinished first innings in a draw against Hyderabad.

Took first innings lead in a draw against Andhra.

Lost to Bengal by one wicket.

Defeated Kerala by 151 runs.

Pitch Condition/Report:

Going by the way scores of the previous game between Punjab and Himachal, it can be assumed a typical subcontinental track will be dished out at Mohali. However, the previous season games had help for the pacers which might be seen as the season progresses.

Squads:

Punjab:

Mandeep Singh (C), Yuvraj Singh, Shubman Gill, Anmolpreet Singh, Jiwanjyot Singh, Abhishek Gupta, Abhishek Sharma, Sandeep Sharma, Manpreet Gony, Sanvir Singh, Baltej Singh, Vinay Choudhary, Siddharth Kaul, Barinder Sran, Arpit Pannu and Gurkeerat Singh.

Tamil Nadu:

Baba Indrajith (C), Abhinav Mukund, M Kaushik Gandhi, Baba Aparajith, Dinesh Karthik, N Jagadeesan, Vijay Shankar, J Kousik, M Shahrukh Khan, Rahil Shah, R Sai Kishore, M Mohammed, K Vignesh, T Natarajan, Abhishek Tanwar.

Probable XI:

Punjab:

Mandeep Singh (C), Shubman Gill, Anmolpreet Singh, Yuvraj Singh, Gurkeerat Singh, Abhishek Gupta, Abhishek Sharma, Sandeep Sharma, Manpreet Gony, Vinay Choudhary, Siddharth Kaul/Barinder Sran.

Tamil Nadu:

Baba Indrajith (C), Abhinav Mukund, M Kaushik Gandhi, Baba Aparajith, Dinesh Karthik, N Jagadeesan, Vijay Shankar, Rahil Shah, M Mohammed, K Vignesh, T Natarajan.

Power Picks:

Abhinav Mukund has been quite inconsistent this season as he been dismissed three times out of seven innings for single digits and three times between 25 and 35. However, he scored a big ton of 178 against Hyderabad, which Tamil Nadu would like to see more often from their experienced opener. Anmolpreet Singh of Punjab also had a similar start to the season and the youngster will be gearing up for making it big from here on.

Best Playing XI:

Dinesh Karthik, Mandeep Singh, Shubman Gill, Baba Indrajith, Abhinav Mukund, Anmolpreet Singh, Vijay Shankar, Sandeep Sharma, Vinay Choudhary, M Mohammed, K Vignesh.

Captain and Vice-captain Selection:

Vijay Shankar was in great form during the India ‘A’ tour of New Zealand and is expected to continue with his rich vein of form for his state team. His bowling could be handy if the pacers have something in the track in Mohali. At this point in time, Shankar seems to be ideal for a multiplier option. The likes of Shubman Gill, Mandeep Singh, and Dinesh Karthik are other options for captain or vice-captain.

Expert Advice:

Siddharth Kaul is expected to play this home fixture against Tamil Nadu. However, Barinder Sran is on standby for Kaul in case of any last minute change. Yuvraj Singh, on the other hand, did not attend the practice session on Thursday. Given the importance of the game, the senior pro might feature in the game.

Probable Winners:

Tamil Nadu will have a slight edge over Punjab in this game which is expected to be ending in a draw if not for a typical Mohali track.

*Disclaimer: This team is based on the understanding, analysis and instinct of the author. While selecting your team, consider the points mentioned and make your own decision.

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