Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2021, Maharashtra vs Puducherry: Probable XIs, match prediction, weather forecast and pitch report
Maharashtra will face Puducherry in Round IV of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy. Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow will host this Elite Group A fixture.
Maharashtra suffered a loss in their opening game against Tamil Nadu but bounced back to win the next two games. They defeated Odisha in their last fixture and will be coming into this match with a lot of confidence. Batting first, skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad played a fantastic knock at the top of the order to power his side to 183 in their 20 overs. The bowlers then stepped up to knock over Odisha on 156, winning the game by 27 runs.
Puducherry, on the other hand, are struggling in the competition. Nothing has gone right for them so far as they have failed to win a single game. Puducherry lost to defending champions Tamil Nadu in their previous encounter. The batters struggled a bit after being put in to bat as they could only score 129 in their 20 overs, losing eight wickets. It happened to be a cakewalk for Tamil Nadu as they chased down the total in the 17th over without much fuss.
Maharashtra vs Puducherry Match Details:
Match: Maharashtra vs Puducherry, Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2021/2022
Date and Time: November 8th 2021, Monday, 12:00 PM IST
Venue: Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium
Maharashtra vs Puducherry Pitch Report
The pitch at Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium is very good for batting. The bowlers often tend to miss their mark. The surface is expected to stay true throughout the course of the match.
Maharashtra vs Puducherry Weather Forecast
The temperature in Lucknow is expected to range between 15 and 29 degrees Celsius.
Maharashtra vs Puducherry Probable XIs
Maharashtra
Ruturaj Gaikwad has continued his rich form and scored 81 against Odisha in their last game. He was well-supported by Kedar Jadhav (55) from the other end. Divyang Himganekar and Ashay Palkar picked up four and three wickets respectively to help Maharashtra defend the total successfully.
Probable XI
Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Yash Nahar, Kedar Jadhav, Naushad Shaikh (wk), Azim Kazi, Ranjeet Nikam, Divyang Himganekar, Satyajeet Bachhav, Sunil Yadav, Ashay Palkar, Pradeep Dadhe
Puducherry
There were some contributions from middle-order batters but the side failed to put up a good total on the board as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals. The bowlers struggled while defending as Tamil Nadu chased down the total with eight wickets in hand.
Probable XI
Sagar Trivedi, Ragupathy, Damodaren Rohit (c), Paras Dogra, Pavan Deshpande, Fabid Ahmed, Iqlas Naha, Vikneshwaran Marimuthu, Subodh Bhati, Bharat Sharma, Sagar Udeshi
Maharashtra vs Puducherry Match Prediction
Maharashtra have found the right combination and everyone has fired in unison for them to win two games on the trot. Puducherry, meanwhile, are really struggling and need to be at their best to register their first win of the competition.
Maharashtra look strong on paper and should come out on top on Monday.
Prediction: Maharashtra to win this encounter.