Match 5 of this year’s Indian Premier League brings us a clash between the Gujarat Titans and the Punjab Kings at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on March 25.
For the game, here are our preview and predictions.
Indian Premier League 2025 | Match 5: Gujarat Titans vs Punjab Kings | 19:30 IST, March 25
Winners in their inaugural season back in 2022 and finalists in 2023, the Gujarat Titans failed to reach the playoffs for the first time in their history last year. This year, led by Ashish Nehra, they have put together a decent team capable of beating any opposition on their day. However, there are still a few glaring holes in this new-look side that might derail their top-four chances.
Last year, GT had the slowest Powerplay run rate. In a season where teams were piling up 200+ scores at a canter, slow starts hurt them a lot. Although they went big for Jos Buttler at the auction, he doesn’t seem to have the game anymore to bat with a strike rate of 150+ during the Powerplay. Aside from him, GT have also brought in a plethora of quality fast bowlers in Mohammed Siraj, Kagiso Rabada, and Prasidh Krishna, though none of them are particularly good during the death overs, which will be a concern.
On the other end, after his six-year spell as head coach of the Delhi Capitals came to an end following the 2024 campaign, Ricky Ponting has wasted little time diving back into IPL work. The former Australia captain is leading the Punjab Kings with the remit of finally returning them to the playoffs for the first time since 2014. For this job, Ponting and PBKS have trusted Shreyas Iyer with the team’s leadership. Aside from quality additions like Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Glenn Maxwell, and Yuzvendra Chahal, they are one of the few sides to have like-for-like replacements for most of their starters.
This is one of the closer games on paper to start the first round of IPL fixtures. The Gujarat Titans have a strong XI, and after the disappointment of 2024 they’ll want to get off to a fast start in 2025. The Punjab Kings, too, are a solid outfit on paper, and if they can get their bowlers into the game there’s every chance they come out on top. However, the margins for error are very slim. Given their recent track record and home advantage, we back GT to get this one over the line.
Fantasy XI: Jos Buttler, Shubman Gill (vc), Sai Sudharsan, Shreyas Iyer (c), Glenn Philips, Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, Marco Jansen, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal
Venue: Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad
Winners Prediction: Punjab Kings
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