It’s the toofan ke pehle ki shaanti as Kings XI Punjab’s first match of the VIVO Indian Premier League draws close. Hosting the Delhi Daredevils at the IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali, the sher-e-Punjab would be hoping for an explosive start to their campaign and carry the momentum on through the coming month and a half.

Aamne Saamne

Kings XI Punjab 11 vs 9 Delhi Daredevils

Batting de Baadshah

With 1,563 runs at a healthy average of 35.52 and a high score of 101*, David Miller is KXIP’s highest run-getter in the current squad.

Gautam Gambhir has scored 1,097 runs from 39 innings for DD, with a steady average of 31.34.

Bowling de Kings

The second KXIP player to take a hat-trick, Axar Patel is known to choke the opposition for runs and get wickets through the pressure he creates.

With considerable experience, Amit Mishra's ability to turn the ball and beating batsmen with his flight make him one of the deadliest bowlers to play in the league.

Over the past 10 seasons, KXIP has faced DD on 20 different occasions - twice every season with no showdown in the playoffs. KXIP has won 11, with the biggest victory coming in IPL 10 when they won by 10 wickets at home.

Kick-starting their season at home, KXIP will be looking for a win to carry the momentum on through the season. Though Aaron Finch is set to miss the first match for personal reasons, the squad has plenty of adequate replacements. David Miller and Axar Patel will be among key names to look out for, with others like Ravichandran Ashwin, Marcus Stoinis and Andrew Tye also looking to impose their authority on proceedings.

Delhi Daredevils will not find it easy to visit the IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali for their first match of the season. However, they have a good leader in Gautam Gambhir, in a squad which is riddled with young guns like Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer. Glenn Maxwell will miss the first game of the season, and what would have been a homecoming for the explosive Aussie all-rounder. However, with the likes of Colin Munro, Chris Morris and Jason Roy, there is no shortage of firepower in the side.

Yaad Rakhiyo

• With 28 scalps, Axar Patel is the second-highest wicket taker over the last two seasons in the IPL.
• With 200 wickets, Ravichandran Ashwin is the fourth-highest Indian wicket-taker in all T20s.
• Chris Gayle has 18 Man of the Match awards in the IPL – more than any other player.
• Gautam Gambhir has scored 3,433 runs as a captain, the most by a captain in the IPL.
• With 134 wickets in the IPL, Amit Mishra is the highest Indian wicket-taker and the second-highest wicket-taker in the league.

Who could play?

Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal, K.L Rahul (wk), Yuvraj Singh, David Miller, Marcus Stoinis, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin (c), Andrew Tye, Mohit Sharma, Barinder Sran

With great depth in the batting, KXIP have a number of routes they can take in the batting order, with the likes of Rahul and Stoinis also no strangers to opening the innings. In the bowling department too, Ankit Rajpoot and Ben Dwarshuis provide great options.

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.