Punjab Kings and Gujarat Titans will get their IPL 2026 campaigns underway today at Mullanpur, New Chandigarh. The likes of Shubman Gill, Jos Buttler and Shreyas Iyer, among other big players, will be in action as they will be keen on starting their season on a high. Ahead of the clash, let us have a look at the player battles that can decide the fixture:
3 Player Battles to watch out for in PBKS vs GT clash in IPL 2026:
1. Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan vs Marco Jansen
Marco Jansen could be crucial in breaking the Gujarat Titans’ opening pair of Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan. The duo piled on 912 partnership runs last season, with the latter even winning the Orange Cap with 759 runs. Punjab Kings will need Jansen to strike in the powerplay and this battle will be worth watching. Gill has generally struggled against the left-arm pacer.
Even though he hasn’t got out to him in IPL so far, the Indian batter has scored only 38 runs off 33 deliveries against Jansen at a strike rate of 115.15. Jansen has had a wood over Sudharsan too, conceding only 30 runs off 22 balls while dismissing the southpaw once.
2. Yuzvendra Chahal vs Jos Buttler
Yuzvendra Chahal will mostly bowl in the middle overs when Buttler is also likely to come out to bat. With Gill and Sudharsan expected to bat out the powerplay overs, Buttler will have to face the leg-spinner and must come out with his own plans to tackle Chahal, having struggled against him in the IPL. Buttler has only scored 29 runs off 32 deliveries against Chahal at a strike rate of 90.62 and has got out to him once.
3. Shreyas Iyer vs Rashid Khan
Shreyas Iyer is the most important wicket in the Punjab Kings line-up, and Rashid Khan is one bowler who can put him under pressure. The Afghanistan bowler has dismissed him twice in IPL in 86 deliveries while going for only 100 runs. The strike rate of 116.27 for Iyer against Rashid is not great for a batter, and this battle can certainly turn the game on its head depending on who wins it.
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