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Maharashtra vs Punjab, VHTE 2025-26, Today Match Prediction 24 December 2025
MHA vs PCA Win Probability
Toss Winner - Maharashtra won the toss and choose to bowl first
Punjab beat Maharashtra by 51 runs
Maharashtra take on a star-studded Punjab in their opening game
- Shubman Gill joins the Punjab squad
- Maharashtra have a strong batting lineup
- Punjab lost to Maharashtra in the Quarter-Final last year
Punjab to win
| Tournament: | Vijay Hazare Trophy Elite, 2025-26 |
| Format: | odi |
| Venue: | Anantam Ground, Jaipur, Jaipur, India |
| Toss Prediction: | To Bat |
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MHA vs PCA Match Prediction & Analysis
Despite some promising players like Abhishek Sharma, Prabhsimran Singh, and Anmolpreet Singh, Punjab failed to chase down a target in the Quarter-Final last season. Will the addition of India captain Shubman Gill strengthen the batting lineup and help them settle scores with Maharashtra?
Ruturaj Gaikwad will lead Maharashtra in the 2025-26 Vijay Hazare Trophy season. He has a strong overall squad with plenty of promising batters like Arshin Kulkarni, Rahul Tripathi, and Prithvi Shaw. The question is how many of these will actually deliver consistently for the side this season.
Siddesh Veer and Ankit Bawne played a key role in the middle order for Maharashtra last year. They will be the ones to watch out for as the semi-finalists of last season take on a powerful Punjab side in this match.
Shubman Gill’s addition to the Punjab squad certainly adds a lot of strength to the batting lineup, and along with Abhishek Sharma and Prabhsimran Singh, he will be a key figure in the top order.
We expect a close contest between two of the best batting lineups in the tournament. While Arshdeep Singh continues to lead the pace attack for Punjab, Maharashtra will be missing Mukesh Choudhary this year. In his absence, bowling all-rounder RS Hangargekar could find a spot in the XI.
RECENT PERFORMANCE
MHA
W
W
L
W
L
MHA
176/3 in 20.0 8.8
SMATE 2025
Maharashtra beat Bihar by 3 wickets
182/7 in 19.1 9.5
142/5 in 19.4 7.22
SMATE 2025
Chandigarh beat Maharashtra by 5 wickets
139/7 in 20.0 6.95
PCA
W
L
L
W
W
PCA
211/5 in 19.5 10.64
SMATE 2025
Andhra beat Punjab by 5 wickets
205/5 in 20.0 10.25
HEAD TO HEAD
Last 2 Matches
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TEAMS PREVIEW
Maharashtra Preview
Maharashtra struggled to find consistency with the ball in the business end of the tournament last year. They conceded 380 runs in the semi-final while bowling first against Vidarbh after having bowled out a mighty Punjab for 205 in the quarter-final.
While Pradeep Dadhe and Rajneesh Gurbani continue to be part of the squad, RS Hangargekar and Arshin Kulkarni will be centre stage this year. They will be expected to lead the bowling attack in the absence of Mukesh Choudhary.
Maharashtra needs to figure out the roles for their bowlers. They must get it right early in the season, and there could be no better opportunity than this game against Punjab.
They are up against a strong batting lineup, and this time around, they will face Shubman Gill, who is a great white-ball player. Satyajeet Bachav, Prashant Solanki, and Vicky Otswal are the spin-bowling options in this squad.
The all-rounders also add depth in the batting, along with variety in the bowling attack. Ruturaj Gaikwad must lead from the front as the captain and opening batsman alongside Arshin Kulkarni.
The middle order features Rahul Tripathi and Siddesh Veer, followed by Ankit Bawne and Nikhil Naik. However, we expect someone to make way for Prithvi Shaw this season. Shaw could open with Gaikwad, while Kulkarni could be dropped to number 4. It is a well-balanced overall squad that needs their bowlers to find their rhythm early on in the tournament.
Maharashtra Predicted Playing XI:
Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Prithvi Shaw, Arshin Kulkarni, Siddhesh Veer, Rahul Tripathi, Jalaj Saxena, Nikhil Naik (wk), Satyajeet Bachhav, Vicky Otswal, Rajneesh Gurbani, Pradeep Dadhe
Maharashtra Actual Playing XI:
Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ankit Bawne, Nikhil Naik, Prithvi Shaw, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Jalaj Saxena, Arshin Atul Kulkarni, Siddhesh A Veer, Pradeep Dadhe, Vicky Ostwal
Punjab Preview
All eyes will be on Shubman Gill as he comes out to bat against Maharashtra in this match. We expect him to score big alongside the big guns, such as Abhishek Sharma and Prabhsimran Singh.
Singh and Sharma are attacking players in the top order, while Gill is a generational talent who can play a longer knock and take the game away from the opposition. With Anmolpreet Singh and Nehal Wadhera in the middle order, this batting lineup looks much stronger and will pose a threat to Maharashtra in this game.
Then there is the reliable and promising Naman Dhir, who adds depth to this batting order, lower down the order. In addition to Dhir, the skipper will also be expecting a good knock from all-rounder Sanvir Singh in the lower order.
Arshdeep Singh will lead the pace attack with Gurnoor Brar, while Raghu Sharma is the key wicket-taker in the spin department. He will be supported by the star player Harpreet Brar, who has delivered in the IPL too.
While Sanvir Singh is another pace-bowling option, all-rounder Abhishek Sharma will be used as a spinner to add variety to the bowling.
Punjab Predicted Playing XI:
Shubman Gill (c), Abhishek Sharma, Prabhsimran Singh, Anmolpreet Singh, Nehal Wadhera, Naman Dhir, Salil Arora (wk), Ramandeep Singh, Sanvir Singh, Arshdeep Singh, Raghu Sharma
Punjab Actual Playing XI:
Anmolpreet Singh, Salil Arora, Naman Dhir, Prabhsimran Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Abhishek Sharma, Gurnoor Brar, Harpreet Brar, Raghu Sharma, Sukhdeep Bajwa, Krish Bhagat
PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS
Weather Conditions
It will be a clear and sunny day in Jaipur with a high of 22 degrees Celsius around the match time. We expect no weather interruptions, and it will be a great day for a one-day match between two mighty teams of the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
MHA vs PCA Pitch Report
It seems like a great batting wicket that also offers plenty of help for the bowlers in the second innings. The average first innings score in the last 5 one-day matches played on this ground is 295 runs. For a match-winning score, the team batting first should aim for something over 325-330 runs in this match.
Toss: To Bat
It is a high-scoring venue where teams have managed to defend decent scores quite comfortably in the recent matches played here. Teams batting first have won the last 5 consecutive one-day matches played on this ground in the Rajasthan State U-19 Championship tournament. We reckon that Punjab would certainly prefer to defend a total here with their batting power and bowling strength.
MHA vs PCA
Winning Prediction
It will be a close contest between the two sides. They have balanced overall squads with plenty of big-hitting, reliable, and experienced batters. However, Punjab’s bowling attack is slightly stronger than Maharashtra's, and we believe they will avenge their loss from last year’s knockout stage. Punjab will start as favorites in our match prediction.
Punjab to win
Puntit
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