Punjab Kings out to do a double against Gujarat Titans:PBKS near playoffs spot, GT eye hat-trick of victories

Their perfect run finally halted, Punjab Kings (PBKS) will look to ensure the slip does not turn into a slide when they take on Gujarat Titans (GT), who will be targeting a third straight win, in IPL 2026 here on Sunday, 3 May at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad. This will be the second time that GT and PBKS will face each other this season in the group stage. Their last clash saw Cooper Connolly stand out with an unbeaten 72 off 44 balls which helped the Punjab Kings start their campaign with a win in Mullanpur. Both teams had contrasting outcomes in their last matches. Punjab Kings enter this clash on the back of a defeat to the Rajasthan Royals, their first loss of the season. Gujarat Titans, on the other hand, overwhelmed defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in what was a one-sided clash. GT vs PBKS, IPL 2026, Match Details Match: Gujarat Titans vs Punjab Kings, match 46 Venue: Narendra Modi International Cricket Stadium, Ahmedabad Time: 7:30 PM IST Toss time: 7:00 PM IST Where to watch: Star Sports Network (Telecast), JioHotstar (Streaming) Where to follow: Follow live updates on the Bhaskar English app. GT vs PBKS, head-to-head record Gujarat and Punjab have met seven times in the IPL, with Punjab Kings holding a slight edge with four wins compared to Gujarat Titans’ three. GT’s highest score against PBKS is 232, while their lowest is 143. PBKS have posted a top total of 243, with their lowest being 142, making this a closely contested rivalry. Gill, Rabada shining stars for Titans For the Gujarat Titans, captain Shubman Gill and pacer Kagiso Rabada have played a key role in the team’s success so far this season. Gill is the highest scorer for his team, with 373 runs in eight matches, striking at 155.41 with a best score of 86. Rabada, on the other hand, has been lethal with the ball in hand, taking 14 wickets in nine matches. The pacer has clocked seriously high speeds and his best performance has been 3/25 against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK). Prabhsimran, Arshdeep key for Punjab bouncing back to winning ways Prabhsimran Singh and Arshdeep Singh have been the standout performers for the Punjab Kings this season so far. Prabhsimran has scored 346 runs in eight matches with a strike rate of 179.27. Although Arshdeep has been expensive, he has been amongst the wickets for PBKS. The left-arm pacer has picked up eight wickets in as many matches and will be important for Punjab to return to winning ways. Chahal dismissed Gill four times in the IPL Yuzvendra Chahal has had the upper hand over GT captain Gill in the IPL. The leg-spinner, who is the highest wicket-taker in IPL history, has dismissed Gill four times in nine innings. Gill has scored 69 runs off the 57 balls he has faced from Chahal while having a strike rate of 121.05. Iyer vs Siraj and Rashid battle to watch out for Not just one but two player battles involving Shreyas Iyer are set to be key in determining the direction of the contest. Iyer will have an interesting battle against Mohammed Siraj. In 35 balls against Siraj, Shreyas has scored 46 runs at a strike rate of 131.42. Siraj has dismissed the PBKS captain twice. How Shreyas fares against Rashid Khan might be interesting to see. Shreyas has scored 105 runs in 90 balls against the GT spinner, having a strike rate of 116.66. Rashid’s economy against Shreyas has been good against Shreyas (7.00) and he has dismissed the right-hander two times. Narendra Modi Stadium pitch report The Narendra Modi Stadium pitch is expected to favour batters, offering good bounce and carry due to its red-soil surface. However, black-soil patches may assist spinners as the match progresses. The larger boundaries can also challenge big-hitters, turning some mistimed shots into catches rather than sixes. Ahmedabad weather report The weather in Ahmedabad is expected to be clear and free of rain during the Gujarat Titans vs Punjab Kings match. The temperature is likely to be between 35 and 39 degrees Celsius. However, with the humidity, it might become difficult to grip the ball going deep into the match.