The Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali on Saturday. It is their second meeting this season and the 59th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2013.
Overview:
SRH defeated KXIP at home in their previous meeting this season. They will meet again on Saturday, and this time at Mohali. It will be a sweet revenge if KXIP beat SRH before their home crowd. Both the teams are still alive in the competition and can make it to the Play-Offs if they win the remaining matches.
KXIP are in the sixth position with 10 points after winning five of the 12 matches played so far. They lost to Rajasthan Royals by eight wickets in their previous match. They will be keen to win the remaining games to book a place in the Play-Offs. Their batting line-up looks stronger than SRH but the latter have good bowling attack.
SRH have 14 points in the table after winning seven of the 12 matches played. They are currently placed in the fifth position but lost to Chennai Super Kings by a huge margin in their previous match. They will be keen to win on Saturday as a few wins in the remaining games will ensure them a place in the last four.
Previous Meetings:
Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Kings XI Punjab by five wickets in their only meeting in the IPL.
Team News:
Kings XI Punjab: Skipper Adam Gilchrist scored 42 from 32 balls in the previous game after a dismal performance this season. His return of form will boost the confidence of the team. He and Mandeep Singh will be expected to give a good start, which will give room for in-form David Miller and other batsmen like David Hussey and Shaun Marsh, who scored 77 in the previous match, to add some quick runs towards the end.
The bowlers have done pretty good job this season thought they took only two wickets against the Rajasthan Royals. They have Parvinder Awana, Manpreet Gony, Piyush Chawla, Praveen Kumar, Azhar Mahmood, Harmeet Bansal and Ryan Harris in the bowling attack.
Sunrisers Hyderabad: In-form Shikhar Dhawan failed in the previous match but Parthiv Patel, Thisara Perera and Karan Sharma put up a good fight. Dhawan will be expected to give a good start on Saturday and skipper Kumar Sangakkara should contribute with the bat.
Bowling has been the strength of the team throughout this tournament. They have Dale Steyn, Thisara Perera, Darren Sammy, Ishant Sharma, Amit Mishra and Karan Sharma in the bowling line-up. Perera was the lone wicket taker (three wickets) in the previous match, letting CSK amass 223 runs, but otherwise they have performed consistently well this season. They will be expected to restrict the score of their opponents.
Prediction:
KXIP are a superior team when it comes to batting but SRH have bowlers who can rattle the strongest of batting line-up. KXIP have slight chance of winning on Saturday as they are playing before their home crowd.
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
Sunrisers Hyderabad: Kumar Sangakkara (C), Akshath Reddy, Amit Mishra, Anand Rajan, Ankit Sharma, Ashish Reddy, Biplap Samantray, Cameron White, Chris Lynn, Dale Steyn, Darren Sammy, Dwaraka Ravi Teja, Hanuma Vihari, Ishant Sharma, Karan Sharma, Nathan McCullum, Parthiv Patel, Prasanth Padmanabhan, Quinton de Kock, Sachin Rana, Shikhar Dhawan, Sudeep Tyagi, Thalaivan Sargunam, Thisara Perera, Veer Pratap Singh
Where to Watch Live
The match will begin at 8:00 pm IST and will be telecast live on Sony Set Max channel.
