KXIP battle for survival against win-hungry CSK
Kings XI Punjab, who were comfortably sitting in the top half of the table until their eleventh match, suddenly find themselves in a danger zone at the seventh position between already-eliminated Royal Challengers Bangalore and Delhi Daredevils. KXIP will play their last game of the league round tonight against Chennai Super Kings at Pune and will have one last chance to join the elite club.
The Ashwin-led men had picked up five victories in their first six games and were able to register only one win in the next six matches. CSK, on the other hand, have won eight of their 13 clashes and would look to extend KXIP’s losing streak to five matches by ending their own two-game losing streak.
The only remaining playoff berth is currently occupied by Rajasthan Royals who have a two-point lead over the two other contenders for the spot—KXIP and Mumbai Indians. Among the three racers MI are the only ones with a positive NRR (Net Run Rate) and RR will be automatically eliminated should MI win their last clash against DD.
A win will not be enough for the visitors tonight and they'll have to make sure that they defeat Dhoni's men by a big margin. On the otherhand, edging out KXIP could be enough for CSK to end the league round as the table-toppers. The hosts will also have revenge on their mind as they were defeated by KXIP in their last outing against the side.
Chennai Super Kings
Chennai still need to address their death-bowling issue. They conceded 26 runs in the last over in their last game against DD and if the bowlers can’t stop leaking too many runs in the end, KXIP might get their cherished big-margin-win which will also help KKR replace CSK in the second spot.
CSK are unlikely to make any changes in their playing eleven.
Predicted XI: Shane Watson, Ambati Rayudu, Suresh Raina, Sam Billings, MS Dhoni(w/c), Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Lungi Ngidi
Kings XI Punjab
When KXIP’s bowlers do well, their middle-order batsmen fail to meet the expectations, and vice versa. All in all, they have struggled to strike all the right notes and a repetition of such performance will surely throw them out of the fray.
Ahead of their next clash, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Karun Nair could return to the side in place of the two underperforming players—Marcus Stoinis and Yuvraj Singh. The team will need a good start by their openers and this will be the last chance for the batters in the middle to prove their worth.
Predicted XI: Lokesh Rahul (w), Chris Gayle, Aaron Finch, Karun Nair, Manoj Tiwary, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin(c), Andrew Tye, Mohit Sharma, Ankit Rajpoot
Prediction
Chennai Super Kings are likely to win this clash as they have the home advantage and a defeat could jeopardize their chances of finishing in the top two.
