It’s going to be a crucial match for Rising Pune Supergiant as they will take on resurgent Kings XI Punjab at home as the hosts lost their previous match against Delhi Daredevils by seven runs.
Steven Smith-led Supergiant has amassed 16 points after winning eight games and losing out on other five. The worrying cause for Supergiant is their net run-rate which is already into minus as -0.083 and if they went on to win the side is expected to go up on the points table.
It’s Kings XI which is standing as an obstruction for the hosts which have registered 14 points in 13 matches as their net run-rate is well into plus as +0.296.
Glenn Maxwell led side has claimed seven wins and lost out on six matches before making a decent comeback on the points table.
On the other side, Supergiant bowlers must bowl in tandem which includes Jaydev Unadkat, Shardul Thakur, Ben Stokes and Daniel Christian followed by slow bowlers with the likes of Adam Zampa and Washington Sundar.
Relying on batting, Supergiant would be expecting to see Rahul Tripathi giving a complacent start alongside Ajinkya Rahane which would further benefit the team as the middle-order line-up is featured with the likes of Steven Smith, MS Dhoni, Manoj Tiwary and Ben Stokes.
While missing out the service of ace leg-spinner Imran Tahir, who has picked 18 wickets in 12 matches to return home for national commitments further, enforced Smith to go with young leg-spinner Adam Zampa, who has to play a significant role to fill the void left by South African recruit Tahir in the remainder of the matches if they qualify for the playoffs.
Ben Stokes, who has been playing a pivotal role both with bat and a ball, picked 12 wickets at an average of 25.50. In 11 matches, Stokes has scored 316 runs which included century and a fifty
Smith, who is leading with the bat from front, is himself listed on the most runs scored by a player in this season with 405 runs at an average of 40.50 which is further laced with two fifties
Ajinkya Rahane, who had a good outing in the initial phase seemed to have lost the momentum in the middle, but he is capable enough to compensate for other as well. In this season, Rahane has scored 248 runs at an average of 19.07 which included just a fifty and would like to improve with the bat to set the target for bowlers to defend.
However, the key has been their batting and bowlers at times looked rusty before Jaydev Unadkat and Shardul Thakur bowled in tandem before Tahir made a decent comeback in the past few games.
It’s expected they will make a change in the bowling line-up which is relying on Indian pace department while being further has been assisted by the overseas players.
Previous Encounter:
In the first match of this season, Kings XI Punjab chased down the target of 164 in 19 overs as they claimed the match by six wickets at Holkar Stadium in Indore which is also Mohali-based outfit’s second home-base
As they don’t have long history to talk about, both the teams have played three matches so far in which Kings XI Punjab claimed two wins and a solitary win for Supergiant which they registered in the last season on 21, May 2016 at Visakhapatnam by four wickets
Punjab XI has registered wins in their both games at home.
Recent Form:
RPS – W W W W L
KXIP – WW L W W
Talking Points:
As Zampa has become an obvious choice, Faf Du Plessis also returned home for the national duty as Rising Pune Supergiant might find it hard to try the combination as he further had warmed the bench.
Stokes would be a threat for Kings XI Punjab’s bowling line-up as Smith and bowling department would like to contain Kings XI Punjab batsmen, who made a decent comeback with Wriddhiman Saha being promoted at the top alongside Martin Guptill.
It would be an interesting battle to watch out for as Jaydev Unadkat might find it hard against Glenn Maxwell and Shaun Marsh.
Rising Pune Supergiant Predicted XI:
Ajinkya Rahane, Rahul Tripathi, Steven Smith (C), Manoj Tiwary, Ben Stokes, MS Dhoni (WK), Daniel Christian, Washinton Sundar, Shardul Thakur/Ishwar Pandey, Jaydev Unadkat and Adam Zampa.