Arunachal Pradesh vs Punjab, VHT, Today Match Prediction 21 December 2024

ARNP vs PCA Match Prediction & Analysis

Vijay Hazare Trophy is a premier domestic 50-overs cricket tournament in India. Top domestic teams participate in this competition, which is organized by BCCI. The tournament format is round-robin, where each team plays each other, followed by knockouts. The tournament is set to begin on 21 December 2024.

In the opening game for both the teams, Arunachal Pradesh will take on Punjab in the 9th match of the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024 at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad on 21st December at 9 am IST. Punjab have generally performed better than Arunachal Pradesh in the previous editions of the Vijay Hazare Trophy and should be looking to get an easy win to kick start the campaign this year.

TEAMS PREVIEW

Arunachal Pradesh Preview

Arunachal Pradesh had a disappointing performance in the Vijay Hazare trophy in the previous season in 2023. They featured in Group D in the last season and could manage only one win in six games. They ended the league at the bottom in the points table. Their only win came against Assam who was the weakest team of the group.

In the previous season, Arunachal Pradesh lost by some huge margins, like the defeat against Rajasthan by 161 runs, defeat against Himachal by 10 wickets, defeats against Gujarat and UP by 8 wickets, and over 200 balls remaining. Not only the defeats but the margins should also be a concern for Arunachal Pradesh at the start of this season.

Batting is a real concern for Arunachal Pradesh. Kamsa Yangfo is their top batter with 182 runs in the last 8 matches averaging 26, with a strike rate of just about 50. But their second-best batter is Techi Doria who has only 88 runs in the last 8 matches with an average of 12.57. This is a matter of concern. In bowling, they are doing relatively well with Yab Niya as their best bowler with 15 wickets in the last 7 matches. Arunachal Pradesh will have to perform better than these numbers suggest to have any chance of beating Punjab.

Key players: Kamsa Yangfo, Yab Niya, Techi Doria, Nabam Abo

Arunachal Pradesh Predicted Playing XI:

Neelam Obi, Licha Jhon, Kamsha Yangfo (wk), Yab Niya, Nabam Abo (C), Abhinav Singh, Darge Bagra, Techi Doria, Licha Jhon, Techi Neri, Hardik Varma

Punjab Preview

Punjab did relatively well with 3 wins in 6 games in the last season of the Vijay Hazare Trophy. They should have won more with the squad they got. So, despite being better than their opponent Arunachal Pradesh, Punjab would be disappointed with their efforts in the last season.

It must be stressed that they lost some close games like the one against Baroda by just three runs. On the other hand, they managed some big wins in the previous season such as - Punjab defeating Nagaland by 9 wickets with about 46 overs to go. They defeated Tamil Nadu and Goa by 76 runs and 67 runs respectively.

Punjab's batting spearhead is the IPL star Abhishek Sharma, who has 307 runs in the last 10 matches at an average of 30.7 and a strike rate of close to 90. He is followed by Ramandeep Singh, who has scored 241 runs in the last 10 matches, averaging about 35 and a superb strike rate of 126.84. 

In bowling, Baltej Singh has 18 wickets in 9 matches at an economy rate of just 3.83 while Mayank Markande has also done well with 14 wickets in the last 10 matches at a nice economy of just 4.44. Punjab's batting and bowling look superior to Arunachal Pradesh. This should be a comfortable win for Punjab.

Key players: Abhishek Sharma, Ramandeep Singh, Mayank Markande, Baltej Singh

Punjab Predicted Playing XI:

Abhishek Sharma, Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Anmolpreet Singh, Nehal Wadhera, Sanvir Singh, Prerit Dutta, Ramandeep Singh, Naman Dhir, Mayank Markande, Baltej Singh, Arshdeep Singh

Weather Conditions

It is expected to be warm and dry with clear skies throughout the day. The temperature of the day would range from a high of 29°C to a low of 15°C. It looks like a comfortable day for a cricket match with no signs of rain.

ARNP vs PCA Pitch Report

The venue of the match is Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad. It is one of the largest stadiums in the world with a seating capacity of over 130,000 spectators. Previously known as Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Stadium, this venue underwent a renovation and was renamed as Narendra Modi Stadium in 2021. The venue has hosted several memorable games such as the IPL Final, Pink Ball Test, and 2023 ODI Cricket World Cup Final.

Toss: To Bowl

Conditions at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad are quite even for batting and bowling. Out of the 31 matches ODIs here, the teams batting first have won 15, while the teams batting second have won 16 matches. In a day game, putting runs on board might be effective here as the conditions may slow down for batting in the second half. The team winning the toss should bat first here.