Kings XI Punjab v Chennai Super Kings
Wednesday, 3.30pm BST
TV: Live on ITV4 and itv.com
Kings XI PunjabKings XI opened their IPL campaign with a surprisingly easy win over Pune Warriors India.
Even allowing for the fact Pune already seem destined to be this season's whipping boys, there was something majestic about the way Punjab captain Adam Gilchrist took 14 runs from the opening over without ever seeming like he was trying.
There have been some doubts about whether the 41-year-old could make a mark in this tournament after playing so little cricket since the last one but the way he caressed his first ball through mid-off to the boundary suggested he is both in fine form and good shape.
An eight-wicket win with over seven overs to spare didn't give a chance for many others to shine but 19-year-old Manan Vohra looked a class act as he made an unbeaten 43 at a strike rate of over 150.
In the field, Punjab were a revelation, all fears of a beating for the oldest team in the IPL assuaged by the electric fielding by the younger members, foremost among them Gurkeerat Singh, who took one of the catches of the competition so far to dismiss Ross Taylor.
Australian Ryan Harris shone with the ball but the important wickets went to the only Pakistani in this year's IPL, Azhar Mahmood. Look out for both to do well on their home ground.
The Chennai Super Kings, meanwhile, managed to butcher their chase of a winnable target in their opening game, falling so far behind the run rate that not even captain MS Dhoni could rescue them.
For this game they will have new signing Chris Morris available to strengthen the bowling and he should replace Ben Laughlin who looked average on Saturday. At $625,000 Morris has a heck of a price tag to live up to. The problem for CSK, though, is that all of the bowling in the world won't help them if they bat the way they did at the weekend.
The Punjab CA Stadium in Mohali has been an unhappy hunting ground for Kings XI in the past but don't read too much into the history here as this looks a much fitter and much more focused side than the one that has missed the playoffs in every season since 2008.
Match odds
Kings XI have won five if their last six games against Chennai. They are 2.52 (6-4) to make it six from seven, with the visitors at 1.64 (5-8).
Given the respective performances so far it is hard not to favour the hosts to beat the odds here.
Top Punjab batsman
Gilchrist and Mandeep Singh look to be a formidable opening partnership but it was Vohra who really caught the eye on Sunday, admitting five if his first seven balls to the boundary. At odds of around 4.5 (7-2) he will be attractively priced.
Top Chennai batsman
Dhoni will always be a favourite in this market so the value lies in looking elsewhere. Suresh Raina needs three more sixes to be the second batsman after Chris Gayle too hit a 100 IPL maximums and at around 4.3 (100-30) is a decent price to top score for the Super Kings.
Recommended bet
Back Kings XI Punjab at 2.52 (6-4 to win)
Milesey
Resident football tipster at Scotland's most read newspaper, the Daily Record, for over 20 years and proud host of one the best betting communities on the web with daily betting tips.
Coming off a thumping away win over Pune Warriors, Kings XI Punjab will face a stern test when they take on a wounded Chennai Super Kings in their Indian Premier League (IPL 6) match, here on Wednesday (April 10).
Having lost to Mumbai Indians in their opening game, the Super Kings would look to make amends quickly. While a relatively inexperienced Kings XI side would go in as underdogs in this contest despite a resounding eight-wicket win over lacklustre Pune Warriors
The Gilchrist-led side would aim for a similar show in the second match of the double header at the PCA stadium here.
On the bowling front, the hosts would be pleased with a disciplined performance from the seamers in the last match.Pacer Praveen Kumar, who recently returned from an injury lay off followed by a ban, looked in good rhythm as he picked up two key wickets including that of dangerous Ross Taylor.
The Punjab team has a settled bowling combination led by Australian pacer Ryan Harris. Tidy performances from Parwinder Awana and leggie Piyush Chawla would also comfort the Preity Zinta co-owned side.
Punjab would be relying on former Pakistani allrounder and T20-journeyman, Azhar Mahmood, to come good with both bat and bowl while expecting seasoned T20 campaigner David Hussey to provide late flourish to the side.
The Kings XI batsmen, in their small run chase, looked imposing. Young Mandeep Singh would like to build upon his reputation of an enforcer and a case for selection in the national side.
On his IPL debut, Manan Vohra scored blazing 43 off just 28 deliveries and looked at ease playing at this level.
To pass the star-studded CSK test, the Darren Lehmann-coached side would be aware that they will have to labour hard at home. Though, still early days in the cash-rich league, the side would know the importance of fending off giants when they are still looking to settle down.
CSK, on the other hand, would be looking to put behind the disappointment of their nine-run loss.
Even though the match went down to the last over courtesy heroics from skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (26-ball 51), CSK coach, Stephen Fleming, had expressed his displeasure over poor shot selection from some of his batsmen against MI.
Dhoni`s fine form is surely an ominous sign for the opponents. And despite the loss, CSK look a far more formidable side and would certainly start as favourites.
The two-time IPL champions, however, would be wary of the fact that KXIP had trampled them on both occasions in the last season.
CSK would be hoping for a blazing start from Michael Hussey and Murali Vijay while expecting Dwayne Bravo and Suresh Raina to come good in the middle order.
The team management would also want useful contributions from S Badrinath and Ravindra Jadeja lower down the order.
The Super Kings would be relieved after Albie Morkel, who twisted his ankle while bowling in the finals of the domestic Twenty 20 competition in South Africa, was cleared after precautionary scans. The 31-year-old has arrived in India yesterday. However, he is unlikely to take the field tomorrow.
Australian pacer Ben Laughlin and Ankit Rajpoot had a reasonable outing in the first match of their IPL career, with both bagging a wicket each.
Squads
Chennai Super Kings:
MS Dhoni (captain and wicketkeeper), Srikkanth Anirudha Baba Aparajith, Ravichandran Ashwin, Subramaniam Badrinath, Dwayne Bravo, Akila Dananjaya, Faf du Plessis, Ben Hilfenhaus, Jason Holder, Michael Hussey, Imtiaz Ahmed, Ravindra Jadeja, Shadab Jakati, R Karthikeyan, Nuwan Kulasekara, Ben Laughlin, Ronit More, Albie Morkel, Chris Morris, Dirk Nannes, Suresh Raina, Ankit Rajpoot, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Vijay Shankar, Mohit Sharma, Murali Vijay.
Kings XI Punjab:
Adam Gilchrist (captain), Azhar Mahmood, Luke Pomersbach, David Hussey, David Miller, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Manpreet Gony, Nitin Saini, Parvinder Awana, Paul Valthaty, Piyush Chawla, Praveen Kumar, Rajagopal Sathish, Ryan Harris, Bhargav Bhatt, Bipul Sharma, Gurkeerat Mann Singh, Harmeet Singh Bansal, Manan Vohra, Aniket Choudhary, Mandeep Singh, Sandeep Sharma, Siddharth Chitnis, Sunny Singh.
Milesey
What
The Pepsi IPL 2013 Caravan will make its first appearance in Mohali when Kings XI Punjab host the formidable Chennai Super Kings.
A clinical performance saw the Kings XI Punjab register a convincing eight-wicket victory in their season opener against Pune Warriors India. They will be keen to build on that early confidence, especially playing in their own backyard.
The Chennai Super Kings meanwhile suffered a setback at the hands of Mumbai Indians in their tournament opener. The two-time champions, who are known to be slow starters, will be keen to get their first points on the board in this fixture.
When
Wednesday, April 10, 2013, 3.30 p.m
Where
Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali
The Protagonists
MS Dhoni revived what looked like a lost cause in the match against the Mumbai Indians. The skipper looked in good-hitting form and that bodes well for the two-time champions. Among the game’s best finishers, Dhoni has resisted suggestions asking for him to bat up the order. Albie Morkel’s arrival has further bolstered the CSK squad – though his participation is in doubt after he suffered an ankle injury in his last T20 match back home. In Suresh Raina and R Ashwin, CSK have two established performers in T20 cricket, and a lot will ride on their performances too.
The 19-year old Manan Vohra impressed with his temperament and choice of shots in his team’s win over Pune Warriors India. The teenager will be keen to build on the reputation he established in that match. Adam Gilchrist, who said he’d trained a lot harder in the run-up to IPL VI, looked to be hitting the ball well and even muscled a couple of shots in his team’s season opener. He and David Hussey are the two other important names in the KXIP batting line-up.
Previous Meetings
The Chennai Super Kings have an edge over the Kings XI Punjab in contests between the two teams. Off the ten meetings between the two teams, CSK have won six while KXIP won three. The other contest ended in a tie after 40 overs and KXIP edged past CSK in the Super Over.
Last season, KXIP defeated CSK in both the league fixtures; they clinched a thriller by seven runs at Chennai and then convincingly defeated CSK by six wickets at Dharamsala.
Trivia
David Hussey is the second-most capped player in T20 cricket. The 35-year old has so far appeared in 199 T20 matches and has scored 4829 runs (which is the third highest aggregate in T20 cricket).
What Next
Kings XI Punjab will head across to Jaipur for their clash against the Rajasthan Royals on April 14. The Chennai Super Kings will head back home to host their neighbours Royal Challengers Bangalore on April 13.