Puducherry vs Kerala Match Prediction

Puducherry and Kerala will lock horns against each other in a crucial Group C encounter at the Sree Lakshmi Narayana Institute of Medical Sciences Cricket Ground from January 24. The action will kick start from 9:30 AM IST.

Bet on Ranji Trophy

Puducherry are placed at the bottom of the 8-team points table and they would be just playing for their pride. However, the match is an extremely crucial one for Kerala. The side have 20 points and they are three points behind second-placed Jharkhand. Interestingly, Rajasthan (20 points) and Goa (18 points) also stand a chance to make it to the quarter-finals. Notably, a win gives six points, a win by an innings margin gives seven points, and the first innings lead in a drawn match gives three points.

Kerala have to win their match and hope Jharkhand and Rajasthan lose their respective final group stage matches to barge their way into the quarter-finals.

Puducherry vs Kerala Match Chance of Winning

Needless to say, Kerala are the favourites to win the match against Puducherry. Kerala would be entering the match on the back of a draw against a very strong Karnataka, while Puducherry faced a 10-wicket defeat at the hands of Jharkhand in their last encounter.

Only twice in six matches has Pondicherry managed to score over 300 runs. They have been dismissed for scores under 200 as many as six times. Only one batter from the team had scored over 200 runs in the Ranji Trophy 2022-23 before their sixth encounter against Jharkhand. The bowling department has also depended heavily on left-arm spinners Sagar Udeshi and Ankit Sharma who have taken more than 20 wickets each. No other bowler from the team has more than five wickets to their name.

Kerala, on the other hand, have a more established batting line-up. Sachin Baby has been on the top of his game with 791 runs in six matches at an average of 87.88. Sanju Samson, who has scored 284 runs in three matches, is also expected to turn up for the big game. Rohan Prem has scored 461 runs in six matches at an average of 41.90. Four more batters from the team have scored over 200 runs. Veteran spinner Jalaj Saxena has picked 45 wickets in six matches at an average of 17.93. Off-spinner Vaisakh Chandran has also picked 25 wickets at an average of 25.90. Left-arm spinner Sijomon Joseph has chipped in with 11 wickets in six matches. If pacers join the party, a win against Puducherry can prove to be an easier cake walk.

Our Prediction

Batting heavy Kerala look set to grab a crucial win in a must win encounter for them. As mentioned above, there is no match between the two teams when it comes to the quality of cricket they put on display. Puducherry would find it really hard to stop a Kerala side which will surely use all their might to give their best shot for a place in the quarter-finals. Having already lost five of their six matches this season, Puducherry would be under tremendous pressure on their home ground.

Kerala to win - 1.53 (Melbet)
Puducherry to win - 2.3 (Melbet)

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Puducherry vs Kerala Tournament Prediction & Betting Tips 2022

Puducherry lost to Jammu & Kashmir in the first match, and then played a draw against Railways before losing to Karnataka in their last match of the previous season.

This time around, they have lost four matches consecutively before grabbing a win against Goa. They again suffered a 10-wicket defeat against Jharkhand. The side are out of the quarter-finals race.

Kerala won two of their three matches last season but failed to qualify for the quarter-finals. The side finished second in the four-team Elite Group A points table to bow out of the competition. Interestingly, Kerala and Madhya Pradesh had equal points but the latter pipped the former on the basis of their superior quotient value. While Kerala’s runs per wicket ratio was 1.648, Madhya Pradesh had a quotient of 2.147.

Kerala are again in a tricky situation. A win against Puducherry will take them to 26 points behind table-toppers Karnataka (29). The same would however not be enough to qualify for the quarter-finals as a win for second-placed Jharkhand would take them to 29 points. In case Kerala lose their match, Rajasthan (20) register a win against Services, they also jump to 26 points. The scenario would again cause problems for Kerala. Goa (18 points) is also in the hunt for a berth. Kerala's fate isn't in their own hands and that's the same reason why they have a fifty-fifty percent chance to qualify for the last-8 round.

Puducherry vs Kerala Match Toss Prediction

Puducherry's last match against Jharkhand was the first at the venue in this season. In the match, Puducherry won the toss and elected to bat but Jharkhand won the match by 10 wickets. In the second last match at the venue which was played during the 2019-20 season. Nagaland elected to bat first but lost to Puducherry by an innings and 195 runs. Teams have preferred to bat first after winning the toss at Sree Lakshmi Narayana Institute of Medical Sciences Cricket Ground. The same is expected on January 23.

Weather Report

The conditions will be partly cloudy on Day 1, Day 2 and Day 3 of the match. Scattered thunderstorms have been predicted for Day 4. The temperature will hover around 29 degree celsius. The humidity on all the four days from January 24 will be close to 70 percent.

Puducherry Player List

Puducherry Squad:

Damodaran Rohit (c), Abin Mathew, S Akshay Jain, Ankit Sharma, Kothandapani Aravind, Arun Karthik, Sridhar Ashwath, Gonnabattula Chiranjeevi, Paras Dogra, Satish Jangir, Neyan Shyam Kangayan, Jayasundaram Karthikeyan, Marimuthu Vikneshwaran, Manohar Mathavan (wk), Mohit Mittan, Jay Pande, Premraj Rajavelu, Raghu Sharma, Thivagar Gopal,

Sagar Udeshi, Krishna Pandey, Vjai Raja

Puducherry Predicted XI:

Neyan Shyam Kangayan	Batsman
Kothandapani Aravind	Batsman
Jay Pande	Batsman
Damodaran Rohit (c)	All-rounder
Paras Dogra	Batsman
Arun Karthik (wk)	Batsman and Wicket-keeper
Ankit Sharma	Pacer
Krishna Pandey	All-rounder
Sridhar Ashwath	Bowler
Sagar Udeshi	Bowler
Raghu Sharma	Bowler

Puducherry Team Form

Puducherry endured a 132-run defeat against Chhattisgarh before going down by an innings and seven runs, an innings and 101 runs and five wickets against Karnataka, Rajasthan and Services. They finally registered their first win of the season when they defeated Goa by nine wickets in their sixth encounter at Goa Cricket Association Ground. In their sixth match against Jharkhand, they again ended up on the losing side. Jharkhand defeated them by 10 wickets.

Kerala Player List

Kerala Squad

Sanju Samson (c), Sijomon J (vc), Rohan Kunnummal, Krishna Prasad, Vathsal Govind, Rohan Prem, Sachin Baby, Shoun Roger, Akshay Chandran, Jalaj Saxena, Basil Thampi, Nidheesh M D, Fanoos F, Basil N P, Vaisakh Chandran, Sachin S, Rahul P

Kerala Predicted XI

Ponnan Rahul	Batsman
Rohan Kunnummal	Batsman
Rohan Prem	Batsman
Sachin Baby	Batsman
Sanju Samson (c)	Batsman and Wicket-keeper
Akshay Chandran	All-rounder
Sijomon Joseph	Batsman
Jalaj Saxena	All-rounder
Basil Thampi	Bowler
Nedumankuzhy Basil	Bowler
Vaisakh Chandran	Bowler

Kerala Team Form

In the tournament so far, Kerala have contested five games and have emerged victorious in three of them. They defeated Jharkhand by 85 runs before muscling Chhattisgarh by seven wickets in their third match. Their second match against Rajasthan had ended in a draw. Kerala suffered a seven-wicket defeat before registering a 204-run win over Services in their sixth match. Their last match against Karnataka ended in a draw.

Puducherry vs Kerala Head to Head

The two teams will be facing each other for the first time in the Ranji Trophy 2022-23.

Puducherry vs Kerala Betting Odds

Kerala to win

Puducherry vs Kerala Top Team Batsmen

Arun Karthik to be Puducherry's top batsman

Arun Karthik is the leading run-scorer and the second-highest run-scorer from the team has 369 runs less than him. He has scored 599 runs at an average of 66.55 in six matches. The 559 runs include two hundreds and four fifty and so consistency has been on his side. Overall, he has scored 5076 in 89 first-class matches at an average of 38.45. He has 11 hundred and 27 fifties to his name in first-class cricket.

Sachin Baby to be Kerala’s top batsman

The very experienced batter is the leading run-scorer for Kerala. He has scored 791 at an average of 87.88 in six matches. In the 12 innings Baby has played so far, he has hit three hundreds and three fifties. In the second last match against Services, he played 159 and 93 runs respectively. In the following matches, he scored 141 and 37 not out runs in the two innings. Overall, the 34-year-old has played 81 first-class matches and scored 4327 runs at an average of 36.98.

Puducherry vs Kerala Top Team Bowlers

Sagar Udeshi to be Puducherry's top bowler

Left-arm spinner Sagar Udeshi is the leading wicket-taker for his team, having picked 37 wickets in six matches at an average of 17.72. The 36-year-old took eight wickets including a five-wicket haul against Goa in his second last match. In the following match, he picked eight wickets in the first innings against Jharkhand. Overall, he has played 28 matches and picked 168 wickets at an average of 18.47.

Jalaj Saxena to be Kerala’s top bowler

In just 11 innings, Jalaj Saxena has bagged 45 wickets to emerge as the leading wicket-taker of the competition. The right-arm spinner has an average of 17.93 this season. In the second last match against Services, the 36-year-old picked a total of 11 wickets including eight in the second innings. In the following match, he picked two wickets in the only innings he bowled. So far, he has picked five five-fer in the Ranji Trophy 2022-23. The experienced campaigner made his first-class debut in 2005 and since then he has played 132 matches and has grabbed 405 scalps at an average of 25.91.