Kings XI http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Punjab-c833 vs Delhi Daredevils – Indian Premier League 5 – Match Preview
The final weekend of the Indian Premier League’s league matches pits table http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Himachal-Pradesh-c791 Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamsala,
today, May 19, 2012.
Season 5 has brought an upswing in the fortunes of both franchises. While http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Delhi-c780 has certainly booked their place among the elites of the IPL, Kings XI has done extremely well under limited circumstances, despite still lurking with danger.
Their win against Chennai Super Kings was resounding, with seamers and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Adam-Gilchrist-c918 coming to the foil, and probably sealing the fate of the defending champions. However, their own destiny is still hanging by a thread. While a win in their final game would
eventually see Super Kings bow out of the competition, they also need other results to work in their favour in order to see themselves extend their run in the competition.
With KKR and Delhi already qualified, Kings XI will face stern competition from Royal Challengers Bangalore and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Hyderabad-c792 to play the already
eliminated Deccan Chargers, while Mumbai will take a trip to Jaipur to face http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Rajasthan-c837 Royals, which became the third side to get terminated following a poor show against Chargers last night.
For now though, Kings XI need to simply focus on getting a result against the team at the summit of the current edition. Gilchrist returned and lifted his side with a match winning knock and another outing of similar stature will surely impress his franchise’s
livewire and owner Preity Zinta.
They will be pretty confident after their recent display at the picturesque Dharamsala stadium, which offered some serious assistance to bowlers. The lineup is expected to remain the same, which will include an influx of Australian overseas players, along
with http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Azhar-Mahmood-c1116.
Their task however, remains a daunting one where they face the most consistent team of the ongoing IPL. Delhi has impressed everyone this term and will be banked upon to end the league phase at the top.
Their strength this season has been a closely knit unit, which tends to play for each other. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/M-Morkel-c73528 has arguably been the best fast bowler this year,
apart from the obvious http://www.senore.com/Cricket/DW-Steyn-c1409.
Sehwag and Morkel both missed their side’s previous clash against Royal Challengers Bangalore and could be sidelined for this clash as well – only for precautionary purpose. A http://www.senore.com/Cricket/CH-Gayle-c1221 onslaught paved for his team’s mammoth total of 215, with Delhi falling
21-runs short.
The bright spot for the tourists was the return to form for http://www.senore.com/Cricket/LRPL-Taylor-c1849, albeit in a losing cause. The Kiwi skipper has found scoring difficult but his timely innings will only prove beneficial for his team as they approach the play-offs.
Changes could be expected, considering Delhi’s standing but ideally they would want their bowlers to get back in the groove.
The pitch at Dharamsala was an eye opener for batters and any team batting first will need to ensure that don’t lose too many wickets upfront. Expect a low scoring affair.
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