The Kings XI Punjab and Gujarat Lions will square off against each other at the IS Bindra Punjab Cricket Association Stadium in Mohali later today 8 pm onwards (IST). David Miller's side will be looking forward to start their Indian Premier League campaign with a bang against the newcomers, Gujarat Lions.
The eighth edition of the Indian Premier League was a disastrous one for the Mohali-based franchise. Kings XI Punjab was the first side not to qualify for the play-off round of the coveted tournament last year.
The team ended its previous Pepsi IPL campaign at the bottom of the league table with just six points in its kitty. They went on to win their share of three matches out of a probable 14 and one of the victories came against Rajasthan Royals after a thrilling Super Over encounter.
Since then, the Kings XI Punjab team management has decided to axe their former skipper, George Bailey and recruit the 26-year-old South African international, David Miller in his authority. However, a number of cricket pundits and IPL aficionados are sceptical about the passing of the captaincy baton from one hand to another.
David Miller has gone on to lead only three of the total 189 T20 matches that he has played till date. Moreover, the 26-year-old left-handed batsman isn't in his best form as per his latest string of performances are concerned.
Gujarat Lions, on the other hand, will be playing their first ever Indian Premier League match today in Mohali. The Suresh Raina-led side will definitely want to stamp their authority over their more experienced counterpart just like Rising Pune Supergiants.
The Rajkot-based franchise features a number of big international names such as Brendon McCullum, Aaron Finch, Dwayne Bravo, James Faulkner and Dale Steyn.
The Gujarat Lions and Rising Pune Supergiants were included in this year's Vivo IPL following the 2-year-ban of the Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals from the ongoing domestic Indian T20 league due to their alleged involvement in a number of match-fixing scandals.
Kings XI Punjab vs. Gujarat Lions 2016: Match Details
IPL Match Date: 11 April 2016, Monday.
IPL Match Time: 20:00 IST, 14:30 GMT.
IPL Match Venue: IS Bindra Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) Stadium, Mohali.
Match Prediction:
The Mohali pitch has traditionally always been a batting friendly wicket. In the recently concluded ICC World T20 2016, it was observed that the pitch offers absolutely little or no assistance to spin bowling.
Before the big match is set to kick-off, both the teams seem to look equally strong on paper. However, the Gujarat Lions might have a little edge over the Kings XI Punjab today thanks to their comparatively stronger and deeper batting line-up.
Moreover, the presence of the experienced duo of Praveen Kumar and Pravin Tambe and that of the versatile duo of Dwayne Bravo and Ravindra Jadeja along with a number of big hitters such as Brendon McCullum, Aaron Finch, Suresh Raina and James Faulkner definitely tilts the balance of the scale in favour of the Gujarat Lions .
However, the familiarity of the KXIP players with the pitch along with the presence of star players like Glenn Maxwell, David Miller and Mitchell Johnson means the match has each and every ingredient to be a nail biting one.
Teams (Predicted XI):
Kings XI Punjab:
Murali Vijay, Shaun Marsh, Wriddhiman Saha (WK), Glenn Maxwell, David Miller (C), Gurkeerat Singh, Axar Patel, Mitchell Johnson, Sandeep Sharma, Mohit Sharma and Anureet Singh.
Gujarat Lions:
Brendon McCullum, Aaron Finch, Ishan Kishan (WK), Suresh Raina (C), Dinesh Karthik, Dwayne Bravo, James Faulkner, Ravindra Jadeja, Praveen Kumar, Pravin Tambe and Dhawal Kulkarni.
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