IPL 2014: Chennai Super Kings v Kings XI Punjab - 5 battles that will decide the winner

After having experienced the first defeat of the season against Kolkata Knight Riderswhile chasing, Kings XI Punjab will be looking formuch better execution of theirplans andstrategies.They face aformidable Chennai Super Kings at the Wankhade Stadium in the 2nd Qualifier on the 30th of May.The MS Dhoni-led team thumped Mumbai Indians and will be looking to continue the momentum. Theywill be focusedon reaching their 6thfinal in thisseventh edition of the competition.Here we take a look at five fiercecontests that may very well prove to be decisivein what looks like a mouth-watering clash.

#1 Akshar Patel v Suresh Raina

Not many would have expectedan uncapped youngster going for just about 2 runs an over picking up a couple of crucial wickets in a play-off match;Kings XI left-arm spinner Akshar Patel did just that.

Suresh Raina, being aleft-hander,will surely go after Akshar in an attempt to try and unsettle him. If Raina manages to take Akshar out of the attack, it will give a breathing space to the likes of Dwayne Smith and Brendon McCullumwho arent well equipped to tackle qualityleft-arm spinners. So,the winner of this battle will give the initiative to their respective teams.

#2 Sandeep Sharma vs CSK openers

Sandeep Sharma is in a sublime form with the new ball and should consider himself unlucky to miss the 1stqualifier that turned out to be a disappointing outing for his team. With Parvinder Awana likely to sit out for the 21-year-old, his battle against Dwayne Smith and Brendon McCullum (who should move to the top next game)will be extremely crucial for the rest of the match.

Given the West Indians struggle against swing he might well be an easy prey for the Punjab bowler who can swing the ball both ways. However Kings XI fans will be hoping that he will be much more lucky against Smiththan Praveen Kumar was for MI.

#3 David Miller vs Ravichandran Ashwin

The South African batsman has grown in confidence with his role as a finisher and is well capable to play the waiting game for targetting his favourite spots in the crowd. Ravichandran Ashwin has been the go-to bowler for Dhoni when things go wrong.

Clearly Ashwin holdsthe advantage over the left-hander with his off-spiners taking the ball away from Millers strong areas.But the aggression of the Protean can be too hot to handle at times. How will Miller fare against Ashwin will be critical for Kings XIs ambitions.

#4 Glenn Maxwell vs Samuel Badree

It is definitely not easy to defend the Kings XI Punjab batting orderwith 3 gentle medium pacers in the side who can all be smashedfor runs easily. However the CSK think tank might drop any one of Faf du Plessis or David Hussey or even Brendon McCullum if he is not opening,to bring in Samuel Badree, especially for Glenn Maxwell who has fallen to leggies more often in this IPL.

Even though theWest Indian normally bowls at the powerplay, his finalover later in the innings might coincide with Maxwell walking in. It will be an interesting mini-battleas Badree knows what to do to restrict and also prey upon the batsmans instincts to hit him.

#5 Rishi Dhawan vs Mahendra Singh Dhoni

Even though MS Dhoni was not required to bat against Mumbai Indians he will surely be required against a well planned bowling attack that is expected to get wickets.

With Dhoni most likely to walk in around 10-15 overs (in the absence of one of the foreigners), he will surely enjoy batting against a leg spinner in Karanveer Singh. But Rishi Dhawan has troubled the best in the business this season and will be looking to pick out the captain cool cheaply with his wicket-to-wicket line.

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Edited by Staff Editor