In a must-win contest for both the teams, the home side Rising Pune Supergiant won the toss and decided to field first with an unchanged squad.
On the other hand, Kings XI Punjab made two changes in the side in accordance with the pitch as they added a spinner in form of Swapnil Singh and let go Matt Henry for England skipper Eoin Morgan, who has returned from England. However, he will not be the part of the team in playoffs if the team qualifies for the next round.
It’s a straight shootout between both the teams and the winner of the game will make it to the next round. Punjab will look to continue their winning run as at one stage, they had to win their three games in order to keep their hopes alive and they stamped a win in two contests. This is the ultimate final game for them and a win will be the best fruit for the efforts they have put in.
It rained last night in Pune and rain was expected today as well but the good news is that heavy skies have gone away, and a thrilling contest awaits for both the teams and the fans.
Here is what both the captains said at the time of the toss –
Glenn Maxwell: It has been a knockout for quite a few games in a row. Still, can’t win a toss – probably is my 14th loss in a row. We have a couple of changes. Morgan comes in for Henry and Swapnil Singh comes in for Manan Vohra
Steven Smith: We are going to have a bowl. There has been a bit of rain and a bit of moisture in the wicket, which could dry out with the afternoon heat. We have the same team.
Here is the playing XI of both the teams –
Kings XI Punjab (Playing XI): Martin Guptill, Wriddhiman Saha(w), Glenn Maxwell(c), Shaun Marsh, Eoin Morgan, Axar Patel, Rahul Tewatia, Swapnil Singh, Mohit Sharma, Ishant Sharma, Sandeep Sharma.
Rising Pune Supergiant (Playing XI): Ajinkya Rahane, Rahul Tripathi, Steven Smith(c), Manoj Tiwary, Ben Stokes, MS Dhoni(w), Daniel Christian, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jaydev Unadkat, Adam Zampa.