Photo credit: BCCI/IPLT20.com

With one win and one loss under their belt, Kings XI Punjab side will now head home once again, for a tough match against Chennai Super Kings at the Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium, Mohali on Sunday. Although the Sher-e-Punjab lost their previous game against Royal Challengers Bangalore, their performance was commendable, and one they would be hoping to build on in this fixture. 

Aamne Saamne

Kings XI Punjab 7-10 Chennai Super Kings 

Batting de Baadshah

Lokesh Rahul has been nothing short of impressive for KXIP at the top of the order. He has blasted his way through the opposition bowling with proper cricketing shots and finds himself as one of the top run-getters of the league with his tally of 98 runs in the 2 matches so far.

Dwayne Bravo’s pyrotechnics in CSK’s first match against Mumbai Indians find him at the top of the charts for his side when it comes to scoring runs. His exploits while coming in to bat in the lower-middle order have shown why he can be so devastating in the latter stages of an inning.

Bowling de Kings

Ravichandran Ashwin is tied with Mujeeb Ur Rahman when it comes to picking the most wickets for KXIP this season, with 3 wickets apiece, but finds himself higher up on virtue of a superior economy rate. Leading from the front, Ashwin has been accurate and smart with his bowling, also showing a few new tricks up his sleeve in the guise of some wrist spin along with his regular finger spin.

For CSK, Shane Watson has been a key performer, especially with the ball. Generally used at the start of the innings, Watson has managed to make the ball speak with the movement he is getting off the surface, and some subtle variations in pace, line and length. The 4 scalps he has so far are testament to this. 

Mudde ki baat

Chennai Super Kings is one of the sides to have a numerical advantage over sadda Kings XI Punjab when it comes to the head-to-head record over the past 10 seasons. With 10 wins out of a possible 17 in the VIVO Indian Premier League, the side from Chennai might have the numbers backing them, but a revamped KXIP side in home conditions will be relishing the opportunity to start making amends.

Kings XI Punjab have looked aggressive with their batting, getting runs at a fair clip especially at the top. Lokesh Rahul looks to be in the form of his life, and is seeing the ball like a football. In the last match against RCB, they could not save wickets and manoeuvre through the middle overs, but expect the side to make amends against CSK. Their bowling unit has looked good, especially in the spin department with Ashwin, Mujeeb and Axar all delivering the goods.

Chennai Super Kings have been one of the most illustrious sides in IPL history in the past decade. With two close wins going down till the last over, they have shown that they can keep their nerves in the tightest of situations. Shane Watson has been their standout performer, both with bat and ball, while Ambati Rayudu and Dwayne Bravo have done well with the bat at the start and end of the innings respectively. A team also heavily reliant on spin, it will be interesting to see how they will match up against the spin attack of KXIP. 

Yaad Rakhiyo

• This will be Ravichandran Ashwin’s first game against his former side, CSK
• CSK’s Suresh Raina has the most runs in this fixture (580) but might miss out due to an injury.
• David Miller has scored 245 runs in 8 innings against CSK at an average of 40.83 and a strike rate of 146.71 

Who could play?

KL Rahul (wk), Mayank Agarwal, Aaron Finch, Karun Nair, Yuvraj Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin (c), Andrew Tye, Mohit Sharma, Mujeeb Ur Rahman

After two good showings, expect the team to remain largely unchanged for the home game against CSK as well. The spin trio of Ashwin, Mujeeb and Axar have done well in the past two games, and they would be raring to go again. In terms of batting there is always the option of getting David Miller back in, since he has a good record against CSK, or maybe even Chris Gayle at the top. In Barinder Sran, Ankit Rajpoot and Ben Dwarshuis, there are always options to choose from in the pace department too.

NOTE: The aforementioned line-up is an educated guess at best, and the final decision rests with the captain and the team management depending on various external factors.