IPL5: Kings XI Punjab vs Royal Challengers Bangalore - Match Preview
Daniel Vettori’s Royal Challengers Bangalore will take on Kings XI Punjab in the 25th match of the ongoing season five of Indian Premier League (IPL), at the latter’s home ground, the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) Stadium, Mohali on Friday,
April 20, 2012.
Tied on points with two wins in five outings so far in the season, Kings XI Punjab are ahead of their Bangalore counterparts on the points table, owing to a better net run rate.
Though KXIP and RCB have equal number of wins in their bags, both sides come with contrasting fortunes in their previous games. Royal Challengers prevailed by six wickets in the last-ball thriller against Pune http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 while Adam Gilchrist’s Kings
XI http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Punjab-c833 received a comprehensive 8-wicket thrashing from Kolkata Knight Riders.
On paper, RCB has got batsmen who can demolish any bowling attack. After struggling in the initial games, the explosive guns of Royal Challengers seemed to be in top form in their previous game against Warriors where Chris Gayle laid down the foundation
with a blatant 81-run knock, laced with 8 sixes, before http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Allan-Robert-Border-c43726 de Villiers and Saurabh Tiwary finished it off impressively, plundering 21 runs off the final over.
Inconsistency has been the bane of Vettori’s men in the initial few games but now, with the top order as well as the middle-order chipping in well, it seems their batting has attained stability. It will be interesting to see how the explosive trio of Gayle,
Kohli and AB, comes up on Friday night.
Coming to RCB’s bowling attack, whilst their spinners in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/DL-Vettori-c1384 have been quite impressive in containing the opposition batsmen as well as picking up wickets, the pace duo of Zaheer Khan and Vinay Kumar (costing $1 million)
has been a big disappointment. Both the fast bowlers would have to play their part if the tourists are extend their winning streak.
The fifth bowler continues to remain a cause for concern for Vettori. The New Zealander tested part-timers Kohli, Gayle and Dilshan in the previous games but all the three proved quite costly.
The Kings XI Punjab, on the other hand, will miss skipper http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Adam-Gilchrist-c918 at the top of the order, as he has been ruled out of Friday’s match against Bangalore with a strained hamstring. Gilchrist’s untimely strain could be a huge blow for the already struggling
Punjab outfit.
While compatriot David Hussey will stand in for Gilchrist, little known http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Haryana-c790 wicketkeeper Nitin Siani is likely to replace him behind the stumps. Their batting has been a major let down so far in the tournament, with the majority of their top-order batsmen,
including Paul Valthaty, Mandeep Singh being dismal.
Hussey is also yet to make a significant contribution in the middle-order. The Punjab selectors are likely to call in former http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 all-rounder Azhar Mahmood to strengthen the fragile middle-order. However, the onus of putting a handsome total on the board
will remain on Hussey and Shaun Marsh, the only Punjab batsman to have scored a half century this season.
Their bowlers however, have fared better so far with all of Harmeet Singh, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Piyush-c82317 Chawla, Dimitri Mascarenhas and Praveen Kumar chipping in. However, the arsenal could struggle against the belligerent Bangalore batsmen.
Chris Gayle’s devastating form will be on the minds of Punjab bowlers in Friday’s match. KXIP’s overseas player David Hussey, himself a hard hitting middle-order batsman, said that their focus on Friday night will be to send Gayle packing as early as possible.
"He (Gayle) is one of the best players in the world in this format of the game. Our plan is to execute our skills to perfection and try getting him out for a low score,” said the KXIP’s stand in skipper speaking to the media reporters on the eve of the crucial
match.
“If we don't get him out early, he can take the game away from us. He can win it for the team on his own," Hussey added further.
Cloudy weather, with a maximum temperature of 35 degrees Celsius has been forecasted for Mohali on Friday. If rain stays away, the Mohali pitch is anticipated to be full of runs.
Probable teams:
Royal Challengers Bangalore: 1 http://www.senore.com/Cricket/KP-Appanna-c1805
Kings XI Punjab: 1 http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Harmeet-Singh-c1533, 11 Piyush Chawla
Tags: