The Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) will take on the Pune Warriors India (PWI) on Sunday at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali. It is their second meeting in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2013.
Overview:
Both KXIP and PWI are placed at the bottom half of the table. They were defeated by Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in their respective previous matches.
The KXIP have four points on the table after winning two of the five matches played so far. They beat PWI by eight wickets in their earlier meeting this season but the five-wicket lost to SRH in their previous game would have hurt them.
The PWI too have four points on the table after winning two of the six matches played. They conceded an 11-run win to SRH in their previous game at their home turf. They will be keen to win on Sunday at home.
Previous Meetings:
PWI defeated KXIP in their first three meetings but the latter bounced back and won the last two matches. In their meeting this season, KXIP restricted PWI to 99 runs and drove pass the target in just 12.2 overs.
Team News:
Kings XI Punjab: Skipper Adam Gilchrist scored 26 runs from 25 balls in the previous match but his contribution to the team in five innings this season is just 57 runs. David Hussey is the only consistent performer in the team and he will be expected to hit big on Sunday. Other batsmen like Mandeep Singh, Paul Valthaty, Gurkeerat Singh, Manan Vohra and others need to contribute more than they have been doing so far.
On the bowling front, they have Praveen Kumar, Azhar Mahmood, Parvinder Awana, Piyush Chawla, Parvinder Awana, Ryan Harris and Manpreet Gony. They make a well-balanced bowling line-up.
Pune Warriors India: Performance of the openers - Aaron Finch and Robin Uthappa - will be vital in deciding the fate of the team on Sunday. Ross Taylor, whose poor form this season has become a topic of discussion, and Yuvraj Singh, who is nursing a back injury, are expected to return to the team after being rested in the previous match. They were bowled out for just 108 runs in the previous game, and they will be keen to improve their performance.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar's performance in the tournament has been very impressive. He took three wickets for 18 runs from four overs in the previous match. Performances of Ashok Dinda, Mitchell Marsh and Rahul Sharma too have been impressive.
Prediction:
KXIP have home ground advantage in Sunday's match but PWI, which has a strong batting line-up that hasn't put up a big total so far, will be keen to take revenge for the defeat in their previous meeting. PWI are the favourite to win on Sunday.
SQUADS:
Kings XI Punjab: Adam Gilchrist (C), Azhar Mahmood, Bhargav Bhatt, Bipul Sharma, David Hussey, David Miller, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Gurkeerat Mann Singh, Harmeet Singh Bansal, Luke Pomersbach, Manan Vohra, Mandeep Singh, Manpreet Gony, Nitin Saini, Parvinder Awana, Paul Valthaty, Piyush Chawla, Praveen Kumar, Rajagopal Sathish, Ryan Harris, Sandeep Sharma, Shaun Marsh, Siddharth Chitnis, Sunny Singh
Pune Warriors India: Angelo Mathews (c), Aaron Finch, Abhishek Nayar, Ajantha Mendis, Ali Murtaza, Anustup Majumdar, Ashok Dinda, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Dheeraj Jadhav, Eklavya Dwivedi, Harpreet Singh, Ishwar Pandey, Kane Richardson, Krishnakant Upadhyay, Luke Wright, Mahesh Rawat, Manish Pandey, Marlon Samuels, Mitchell Marsh, Mithun Manhas, Parveez Rasool, Rahul Sharma, Raiphi Gomez, Robin Uthappa, Ross Taylor, Shrikant Wagh, Steve Smith, Tirumalasetti Suman, Tamim Iqbal, Udit Birla, Yuvraj Singh, Wayne Parnell
Where to Watch Live
The match will begin at 8:00 pm IST and will be telecast live on Sony Set Max channel.
