Kings XI Punjab v http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Rajasthan-c837 Royals – Indian Premier League 5 – Match Preview
With only 6 matches each left to be played before the Indian Premier League enters the playoffs stage, the Kings XI http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Punjab-c833 and the Rajasthan Royals will both be fighting for victory today on May 5 during their face-off at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium
in Mohali, Chandigarh.
The Kings XI Punjab, occupying the 5th spot on the points table, and having won 3 of their last five matches, will be going into the game with a major psychological advantage, as compared to the Royals who will be coming into the encounter after
suffering 4 consecutive defeats which have landed them at number 7 on the table.
While Rahul Dravid’s men may take heart from the fact that their opponents’ track record at home this season has been far from satisfactory, with the Kings XI having won just one out of the four games they have played in Mohali, the Royals’ own record away
from home has been disappointing, with just one win in 5 matches.
The main reason behind the Royals’ recent defeats has been the batting order, which has failed to rack up substantial scores despite delivering spectacularly in the initial stages of the tournament.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/R-Dravid-c2229 (with 333 runs at 116.02 this season) and Ajinkya Rahane (one of the top run scorers this season, with 458 runs at an average of 57.25) have been amongst the most consistent openers in the current 5th edition of the IPL, and while
both have delivered in the team’s last five matches, the remainder of the batting order has failed to follow through. English batsman, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/OA-Shah-c2134, despite some spectacular knocks in the early stages of the tournament, has recently been registering scores such
as 10 and 1, while Shreevats Goswami and Ashok Menaria have been similarly lackluster.
Shane Watson, fresh from http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Delhi-c780 Daredevils. However, his all-round abilities are bound to come
in handy.
The bowling attack sees itself deprived of Windies all-rounder http://www.senore.com/Cricket/SW-Tait-c2616 who may provide the Royals
the momentum they need to break out of their losing streak. Aside from the single change, the usual suspects are expected to be present in the Royals’ bowling attack – http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pankaj-Singh-c80701.
Like the Royals’, the Kings XI batting line-up also features an impressive opener in Mandeep Singh, who has been his team’s top run-getter this season, with 277 runs at 118.37, along with big names such as http://www.senore.com/Cricket/SE-Marsh-c2470. Wicketkeeper Nitin
Saini impressed in the team’s previous match against the Royal Challengers Bangalore, scoring 50 off 36, and may find himself moved up the order.
The bowling attack will be relying on Azhar Mahmood (whose recent figures of 3/20, 3/25, and 2/23 augur well for the Kings XI), and recent addition http://www.senore.com/Cricket/RJ-Harris-c2330, who joined the team after his tour of the Caribbean with Australia. Local bowlers such as Praveen
Kumar (who has been fairly effective at restricting run the flow),http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Piyush-c82317 Chawla (with 12 wickets in 10 matches to his credit) are also expected to give the Royals’ batsmen a
difficult time.
The pitch at Mohali has a reputation for favouring both batsmen and bowlers alike, although the highest team total scored this season at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium is 171, which is the lowest out of all the venues in the IPL 5 so far. The weather
forecast for the day is sunny, with expected temperatures of 20 - 36° C.
Rajasthan Royals playing XI (probable):
1 http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Ankeet-Chavan-c1051, 9 Shaun Tait, 10 Pankaj Singh, 11 Amit Singh
Kings XI Punjab playing XI (probable):
1 http://www.senore.com/Cricket/P-Kumar-c2143, 10 Parwinder Awana, 11 Bhargav Bhatt
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