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By the time the game begins, the Kings XI Punjab will have known their fate in this season’s IPL. If Mumbai Indians win in the afternoon game, then they are out but it Delhi Daredevils manage to beat the defending champions, then KXIP will have to win their game and hope to upstage Rajasthan Royals' net run rate. Either way, Ravichandran Ashwin’s team would still want to win their last game, considering the fact that it is their poor recent form (three losses in last three) that has landed them in this predicament.
Their opponents tonight are the Chennai Super Kings and after their surprise defeat to DD in the previous game, Dhoni would want his team to sign off with a victory as well. The result of the game would ultimately depend on some of the individual battles that will take place tonight and here is a look at the 5 most important ones.
#5 Ambati Rayudu v Ravichandran Ashwin
CSK have been brilliantly served by their opening batsman Ambati Rayudu and he has almost always succeeded in getting the team off to excellent starts. He is their top-scorer with 585 runs and has recorded an average of 48.75, to go along with a strike rate of 155.23. If KXIP are to have any chance of winning this game, then they must keep him quiet or better still, get his wicket.
The man for the job could well be their captain Ravichandran Ashwin, who has an excellent record against him. In the 57 deliveries that he has bowled to Rayudu in the IPL, Ashwin has dismissed on four occasions and has only given away 64 runs. In the possible absence of their best bowler, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, KXIP’s captain would have to rise to the occasion and tackle the threat posed by the CSK player. It is going to be an absorbing contest.
#4 MS Dhoni v Andrew Tye
The CSK captain has been the reason behind some of the incredible late bursts of runs that the team has scored in the slog overs and MS Dhoni’s strike rate of 155.23 in the middle-order this season has been a big factor behind those. In addition to that, he is averaging 86 and the KXIP’s death bowlers must be wary of the threat he poses at that stage of the innings.
That being said, KXIP possesses one of the world’s finest death bowlers in Andrew Tye and so far, the Australian has picked up as many as 24 wickets at an excellent economy rate of 7.71 in 13 games. His performance tonight is going to determine the KXIP bowling effort and his bag of tricks is going to be a challenge worthy of MS Dhoni’s power-hitting.
#3 Harbhajan Singh v KL Rahul
He has been in outstanding form throughout this season of the IPL and KL Rahul has shown that he is the sort of player, who can sometimes win games on his own. Tonight, he would definitely like to do something along those lines as KXIP go into tonight’s game. He has scored 652 runs so far in 13 games, at an average of 59.27 and a strike rate of 160.98. Those are the sort of numbers that belong to extremely damaging batsmen and CSK would need to find a way of stopping him.
One of their bowler who could well be the man for the job is Harbhajan Singh and it is his experience of bowling to so many top batsmen over the years that should come into play tonight at Pune. In 11 games so far, he has taken 7 wickets and gone for 8.33 runs per over, but it is the sort of control that he brings into the attack that is so crucial. Additionally, Rahul’s 7 dismissals against spin so far this season is also a factor and hence, his tussle with Singh could turn out to be a classic.
#2 Shane Watson v Ankit Rajpoot
The KXIP fast bowler has been one of the key performers in this tournament for them and the most important bit about Ankit Rajpoot’s record in the IPL is that till ahead of his last game he had conceded only 7.3 runs an over in the Powerplays. He can bowl at good pace and generate steep bounce, however, it is the control that he provided early on that makes him an important constituent of KXIP bowling attack.
In tonight’s game, it is his battle against CSK’s opening batsman Shane Watson that is going to be one to watch out for. The Australian has been in roaring hitting form this season and has been responsible for some of the big totals that the CSK have put up this season. He has made 438 runs, at an average of 33.69 and a strike rate of 147.47. His early battle with Rajpoot is going to be a crucial one in the context of the game and if the CSK opener can get on top of him, then KXIP might have a long night on their hands.
#1 Lungi Ngidi v Chris Gayle
KXIP’s star opening batsman Chris Gayle’s form has dipped over the last 5 games but he would take solace in the fact that in his 1st game this season, he dismantled the CSK attack and paved the way for his team’s victory. That 33-ball 63 set him on the path of a superb season and a repeat tonight is something that the KXIP would be hoping desperately hoping for.
However, it must be pointed out that CSK’s South African fast bowler Lungi Ngidi did not play in that game and his pace in the Powerplays is going to be a challenge for Gayle. He has picked up 5 wickets in 4 games and gone for only 7.14 runs an overs so far. In his last game, he returned figures of 2/14 and he would relish bowling fast and at Gayle’s body early on. Whoever wins this battle will almost certainly give his team an upper hand in this game.
