Kings XI Punjab

Kings XI Punjab (143/8) shut down the Delhi Daredevils (139/8) chase on Monday, winning their fifth Indian Premier League fixture by four runs.

Delhi appeared to be on their way to an easy win after limiting their opponents to just 143 runs in their innings, behind the great work from debutant Liam Plunkett. But Kings XI matched them with the ball, grabbing an unlikely win.

      

IPL Standings (Team, Played, Net Run Rate, Points)

1: Kings XI Punjab, 6, +0.394, 10

2. Chennai Super Kings, 5, +0.742, 8

3. Kolkata Knight Riders, 6, +0.572, 6

4. Sunrisers Hyderabad, 5, +0.301, 6

5. Rajasthan Royals, 6, -0.801, 6

6. Royal Challengers Bangalore, 5, -0.486, 4

7. Mumbai Indians, 5, +0.317, 2

8. Delhi Daredevils, 6, -1.097, 2

       

IPL Schedule

Tuesday, April 24: Mumbai Indians vs. Sunrisers Hyderabad, 3:30 p.m. BST/8 p.m. IST

Wednesday, April 25: Royal Challengers Bangalore vs. Chennai Super Kings, 3:30 p.m. BST/8 p.m. IST

Thursday, April 26: Sunrisers Hyderabad vs. Kings XI Punjab, 3:30 p.m. BST/8 p.m. IST

Friday, April 27: Delhi Daredevils vs. Kolkata Knight Riders, 3:30 p.m. BST/8 p.m. IST

For the full schedule and standings, visit IPLT20.com.

       

Delhi Bowlers Impress

Daredevils put on a show with the ball, restricting Kings XI to just 143 runs with a steady diet of pace. Avesh Khan did most of the damage early before Plunkett picked off the Delhi batsmen, taking three wickets while giving up just 17 runs.

As shared by Cricbuzz, it was some debut:

Liam Plunkett was on fire on his #IPL debut, taking 3/17 as #DD restricted #KXIP to 143. Here's the innings analysis by @gbhimani, @joybhattacharj & @Sdoull.#CricbuzzLIVE #DDvKXIPhttps://t.co/mMagT96jGx

— Cricbuzz (@cricbuzz) April 23, 2018

Kings XI's vaunted lineup never got into a groove after Aaron Finch lost his wicket early, and only three players finished with a strike rate in the triple digits. Lokesh Rahul was the standout, scoring 23 from 15.

       

Kings XI Suffocate Chase

With a target of just 144, most fans expected Delhi to cruise to a win. But Kings XI limited Gautam Gambhir to just four from 13 and attacked their opponents early and often, gradually pushing the required run rate into the double digits.

Shreyas Iyer was the only Punjab batsman to do real damage in the chase with a sustained knock, but he couldn't find a solid partner. He also stopped finding the boundary consistently in the final overs, and with 17 needed from the final over, Delhi appeared doomed.

A thrilling final over came down to the last ball, with five needed, but Iyer was caught.

     

What's Next

Mumbai Indians will try to grab their second win of the tournament against a slumping Hyderabad side that has lost back-to-back contests after a hot start.

Kings XI Punjab look to maintain their 100 percent record so far in the Champions League Twenty20 against Northern Districts, who have won one and lost one so far.

Venue: Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali, Chandigarh

Date: Friday, September 26

Start time: 3:30 p.m. BST, 8 p.m. local time

Live on: STAR Sports 1 (India), Ten Sports/PTV Sports (Pakistan), SuperSport (South Africa), Eurosport (UK/Europe), Sky Sports (New Zealand), Network Ten/Fox (Australia), Star Cricket (Sri Lanka), Star Cricket (Bangladesh), ESPN (USA and Caribbean), Willow Cricket (USA)

Weather: According to Weather.com, Mohali will be sunny all day with temperatures reaching a peak of 33 degrees Celsius.

Overview

Kings XI have made a good start to this year’s CLT20 competition, having won both their games so far in the group stage.

First, they eased past the Hobart Hurricanes by five wickets and then took another victory by four wickets over the Barbados Tridents in their second group game.

The Punjab bowlers had some problems against the Tridents batsmen as they allowed the Caribbean Premier League side to post 174-6 from their 20 overs.

However, in reply the Kings XI put together a strong chase and reached their target in the final over, thanks in large part to 46 not out by David Miller.

Meanwhile, Northern Districts come into this game on the back of a loss to the Hurricanes, having beaten the Cape Cobras in their opening match.

Hobart made 178-3 in their 20 overs and then in reply the New Zealanders folded for just 92, with only Scott Styris and Tim Southee reaching double figures.

With Northern Districts stinging from the embarrassing defeat and the Kings XI determined to maintain their winning streak, this game promises to be a tough one for both teams.

Team News

Kings XI Punjab (from): George Bailey (capt.), Thisara Perera, Mitchell Johnson, Glenn Maxwell, David Miller, Akshar Patel, Karanveer Singh, L Balaji, Manan Vohra, Mandeep Singh, Rishi Dhawan, Virender Sehwag, Wriddhiman Saha, Anureet Singh, Parvinder Awana

Northern Districts (from): Daniel Flynn (capt.), Ish Sodhi, Jono Boult, Brad Wilson, Kane Williamson, BJ Watling, Graeme Aldridge, Anton Devcich, Tim Southee, Scott Kuggeleijn, Daryl Mitchell, Daniel Harris, Scott Styris, Trent Boult, Daniel Vettori

Key Players

Thisara Perera

Already in the CLT20, Sri Lankan Thisara Perera has had impressive moments with both bat and ball.

Given his dual role for Kings XI, Perera will be relied upon to contribute heavily for his team if they are to be successful once again.

Tim Southee and Trent Boult

One of the best opening bowler partnerships in all of world cricket, Tim Southee and Trent Boult will be critical for Northern Districts.

If they are both in form and on song, it could be a long night for the Punjab batsmen.

Barbados Tridents open their Champions League Twenty20 group stage campaign against Kings XI Punjab in Mohali.

With the hosts having played already in this year’s CLT20 and won their opening game, they will be riding high in spite of some injury problems.

Venue: Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali, Chandigarh

Date: Saturday, September 20

Start time: 8 p.m. local time, 3:30 p.m. BST

Live on: STAR Sports 1 (India), Ten Sports/PTV Sports (Pakistan), SuperSport (South Africa), Eurosport (UK/Europe), Sky Sports (New Zealand), Network Ten/Fox (Australia), Star Cricket (Sri Lanka), Star Cricket (Bangladesh), ESPN (USA and Caribbean), Willow Cricket (USA).

Weather: According to Weather.com, Mohali is in for some scattered thunderstorms, with temperatures reaching highs of 32 degrees Celsius.

Overview

These teams find themselves in Group B of the CLT20, having both qualified for the group stage automatically.

For Barbados, this game is their first ever in the competition and comes after they won the Caribbean Premier League T20 earlier this year.

However, the Tridents will be without domestic stars Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Smith, who both opted to play for their Indian Premier League sides instead.

That weakens their squad significantly, but with the likes of James Franklin, Neil McKenzie and Ravi Rampaul still at their disposal, they should be a tough team to face.

For Kings XI Punjab, their group-stage campaign got underway in the best possible way with victory by five wickets over the Hobart Hurricanes.

Punjab restricted the Hurricanes to 144-6 from their 20 overs, then knocked off their target in the 18th over after good knocks from Glenn Maxwell, George Bailey and Thisara Perera.

Kings XI will be without Australian Mitchell Johnson—possibly for the entire tournament—and while that leaves their bowling a little thin, they are still going to be tough to beat.

Team News

Barbados Tridents (from): Rayad Emrit (capt), Jonathan Carter, Elton Chigumbura, Shane Dowrich, James Franklin, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Neil McKenzie, Kyle Mayers, Jeevan Mendis, Dilshan Munaweera, Ashley Nurse, William Perkins, Ravi Rampaul, Raymon Reifer.

Kings XI Punjab (from): George Bailey (capt), Anureet Singh, Parvinder Awana, Lakshmipathy Balaji, Rishi Dhawan, Mitchell Johnson, Karanveer Singh, Mandeep Singh, Glenn Maxwell, David Miller, Akshar Patel, Thisara Perera, Wriddhiman Saha, Virender Sehwag, Manan Vohra.

Key Players

Jason Holder

A very exciting bowling prospect for the West Indies, much will be expected of Jason Holder in this game. If the Tridents are to restrict their opponents with the bat, Holder will need to be on form.

Glenn Maxwell

Still one of the most explosive batsmen in the T20 format, Australian Glenn Maxwell started well with 43 in Kings XI’s first match of the CLT20.

If he is able to get his eye in and start hitting boundaries, it could be a long night for Barbados.

Kings XI Punjab opened their 2014 Champions League Twenty20 campaign with a five-wicket victory over Hobart Hurricanes.

After putting the 2013–14 Big Bash League runners-up into bat, Kings XI restricted the Australians to 144-6 in their 20 overs at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium.

The Indian Premier League finalists then sent the home fans into raptures by polishing off the total with 14 balls to spare in the opening Group B match of the sixth edition of the event.

Hobart Hurricanes(144/6) vs Punjab,, 146 / 5 in 17.4 overs - RR 8.19, Punjab won by 5 wickets. Full scorecard http://t.co/fygxHEcAqc

— vcricket IPL Punjab (@IPLPunjab) September 18, 2014

The Tasmanian side saw four batsmen get into the twenties but none kicked on to make a big score.

Travis Birt and Jonathan Wells both made 28 and shared a 52-run fifth wicket partnership in 31 balls, with the latter hitting two of the three sixes in the innings.

Our master blaster @T_Bird81 picked up tonight's biggest 6 of the match award #KXIPvHH pic.twitter.com/w0VBzwvLu8

— Hobart Hurricanes (@HurricanesBBL) September 18, 2014

They had an immediate boost, however, as Doug Bollinger removed Virender Sehwag with the first ball of the reply.

David Miller also went for a duck as Kings XI stuttered to 23-3 but, as he did so often in the IPL, Glenn Maxwell came to his side's rescue.

The Australian took a liking to his compatriots' bowling, hitting four boundaries and two sixes in making 43 from 25 balls.

He went in the 11th over to leave the score on 77-5, but fellow Australian George Bailey (34) and Thisara Perera (35) saw their side home with room to spare.

In the last 10 overs not a single Indian player was on the field just 12 Aussies, 1 Pakistani and 1 Sri Lankan #KXIPvHOB #CLT20

— Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) September 18, 2014

Cape Cobras, Barbados Tridents and Northern Knights, who came through the qualifying pool, complete Group B.

The top two will progress to the semi-finals, with the tournament coming to a crescendo in Bangalore on October 4.

At the end of the powerplay in Sunday's IPL 7 final, the Kolkata Knight Riders had reached 59-1. Both the number itself and the manner in which it was achieved were significant. 

With little fuss and even less risk, Gautam Gambhir and Manish Pandey had gobbled up the kind offerings from the Kings XI Punjab. A six hadn't been struck. An audacious shot hadn't even been attempted—they simply weren't needed. 

For Twenty20 cricket, it was almost mundane. 

But such was the lack of pressure applied by George Bailey's seamers that the Knight Riders were essentially gifted the game's initiative in their three-wicket victory for the title. Without even breaking out of third gear, the Kolkata pair raced along at 10 runs per over by merely dispatching half-volleys. 

Perhaps most telling was the dot-ball count. In the opening six overs, the Kings XI bowled just eight dot balls, one of which was the wicket of Robin Uthappa. The Knight Riders bowled 19 in the same period. 

What came to haunt the men in red in the Indian Premier League final was the side's seam-bowling issues—rather than the curious use of Glenn Maxwell and David Miller—that have lingered throughout this tournament. 

Examining the IPL final's scorecard makes for difficult reading for the Kings XI. A top-order player thumped a sublime hundred, a target of 200 was set, the opposition's best batsman didn't reach double figures, an impressive spinner conceded less than a run-a-ball and another claimed four wickets. 

Yet somehow they were defeated. Convincingly, really, given that KKR needed just 21 from the last 18 deliveries. 

But it really shouldn't have come as a surprise.

Throughout the league phase, Punjab conceded more runs than any other side, including Kevin Pietersen's miserable Delhi Daredevils outfit. In the second qualifier of the playoffs, it took an incredible run out from Bailey to ensure 226 was defended after Suresh Raina had thumped Chennai to 100 inside the powerplay.

The Maxwell and Miller show—as well as a dose of Virender Sehwag—had done as much as possible to cover the team's major flaw. But tournament finals have a habit for exposing notable deficiencies. This IPL finale was no exception.

Indeed, on Sunday, the Kings XI characteristically piled on 199. But this was the tournament's worst bowling side trying to defend at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium—the worst venue in world cricket in which to do so. 

A rather straight-forward cruise to the finish line ensued for Gambhir's surging team. 

Bailey will no doubt look back to the failures of his seamers when examining his side's loss on Sunday evening. Mitchell Johnson (10.25 runs per over), Lakshmipathy Balaji (10.25) and Parvinder Awana (12.28) were simply unable to operate with any precision. Of course, Karanveer Singh was more expensive again (13.50), but it's difficult to expect a leg-spinner to contain on a small ground after the opposing batsmen have already struck a groove amid porous resistance. 

But Bailey would be wise to look back further to trace his side's downfall.

Across the entire duration of this season's IPL, the Punjab seamers that took part in the final were alarmingly expensive. In fact, at 8.29 runs per over, Johnson was the most economical of the bowlers who took part on Sunday. Balaji was half a run worse at 8.79, while Awana recorded an abysmal figure of 10.42.

Like competing for Premier League titles without a solid back four, or challenging for NBA and NFL crowns without a suffocating defence, it's extremely difficult to lift limited-overs cricket trophies without the ability to defend.

But what if Maxwell and Miller had their say, rather than being held back by Bailey? Could the Kings XI total have been bigger and out of sight for Kolkata?

Quite possibly, but that misses the key point.

Identifying issues with the Punjab batting performance on Sunday is like criticising a football team's strikers in a 5-4 loss. You simply should be able to defend that. Totals of 199 should win T20 matches 19 times out of 20. 

Yet, on this occasion, it didn't. It was a recurring theme for Kings XI that became the culprit.

As Bailey and his team-mates learned in Bangalore, tournament finals have a habit for witnessing just that.

All statistics courtesy of ESPNcricinfo.

Coming into the second qualifier of the seventh edition of the Indian Premier League between Chennai Super Kings and Kings XI Punjab at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium, Virender Sehwag was far from the spotlight or any conversation regarding the game.

The match was billed as the final before the final, as both these teams had arguably been the strongest in the group stages. While Punjab finished on top of the table, Chennai were relegated to third following a run of three straight defeats in their last three games of the league stage.

The crowd at the Wankhede were anticipating the "Glenn Maxwell Show" when Punjab were put in to bat. The 25-year-old Australian, who had had a spectacular first half of the season, scoring 435 runs in his first seven games, had slowed down toward the end, managing just 104 from his last seven. This was supposed to be his comeback.

But then out walked Sehwag, who last played for India in March 2013 and had had an average IPL season, scoring 326 runs in 16 matches at an average of just 21.8.

Sehwag had got a couple of starts, a few 20s and 30s here and there, and that's probably what most expected on Friday evening. Was he on the majority fantasy IPL teams? Far from it. It was all Maxwell, MS Dhoni and Mohit Sharma, who was expected to scalp Sehwag soon enough.

The once-famed hand-eye coordination and lightning reflexes that made Sehwag one of the most dangerous batsmen in the world in his prime, was considered long gone. Aged 35, he now wore glasses and a distinct paunch. See-ball-hit-ball had become see-ball-miss-ball.

Not many could remember his last noteworthy innings on a cricket field. There wasn't much he could do, except perhaps connect a couple of boundaries to set the launchpad for Maxwell, right?

Only Sehwag had other ideas.

Opening Phase: Balls 1 to 8

He began in typical fashion, crunching left-arm seamer and Delhi teammate Ashish Nehra through the offside with a delectable cut off the back foot in the very first over. This was followed by a slash through the covers for four more in the third over, bowled by Sharma. In the next over, Sehwag sliced medium-fast bowler Ishwar Pandey between the slips and gully to the third-man fence for four.

These three shots brought back memories of the Sehwag of yore. At the end of four overs, Punjab were 43 for no loss, and Sehwag had raced to 18 off eight balls. Did we have something on here?

Second Phase: Balls 9 to 19

Pooh, that was nothing! "I'm just warming up," said Sehwag, as he smashed Nehra for three back-to-back boundaries in the fifth over. The first was a slap down the ground wide of mid-off, followed by another vintage cream of a cover drive and then another cheeky boundary dissecting the field to the third-man fence.

The next over, bowled by Sharma, saw Sehwag executing a modified version of his trademark upper cut. Sharma bowled a short-pitched delivery that cramped Sehwag for room to free his arms, but he was in such form that he stepped away to the leg side and just slashed the ball over the keeper's head for his first six.

Even as Punjab finished the powerplay with 70 runs on the board without the loss of a wicket, Dhoni brought on off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin in the following over in a bid to try and contain the run-flow.

Sehwag laughed the tactic away as he came down on his knees and lifted the off-spinner's delivery from around the wicket straight into the sight screen. A single in the same over brought up his half-century, off just 21 deliveries.

The few handful who had picked Sehwag in their fantasy teams had just struck the jackpot, and there was more to come.

Third Phase: Balls 20 to 39

In the eighth over, Sehwag welcomed slow left-arm orthodox bowler Ravindra Jadeja into the attack with a massive swipe of the blade on the front foot as the ball flew into the stands beyond long on for a maximum.

In the 11th over, Sehwag creamed Nehra for two back-to-back sixes, one bigger than the other, straight down the ground and over long on. Ashwin was then launched for another maximum down the ground in the very next over. Three huge sixes, and before you knew it, Sehwag had raced to 89 off just 39 deliveries.

Fourth Phase: Balls 40 to 50

Sehwag decelerated a tad as he entered the 90s after what was a long drought. This phase saw just the one boundary. On 99, everyone present at the Wankhede were on their feet. This was a man who was renowned for reaching milestones the unconventional way—by smashing boundaries, like he had done in Multan 10 years ago when he became the first Indian to score a triple century.

However, Sehwag trolled everyone as he brought up his century with a single. It had taken him exactly 50 balls and was his second ton in all seasons of the IPL.

Back in the stands, KXIP co-owner and Bollywood star Preity Zinta could not hold back her tears. Her team had kept the faith in this veteran of the game and great servant of Indian cricket, when everyone had said he was long past his prime. This must have been sweet justice.

Final Phase: Balls 51 to 58

With the milestone behind him, Sehwag got back into top gear as he took Punjab past the 200-mark for the third time in the tournament against CSK. He swiped, he crunched and he launched the ball into the stands, before Nehra was given some reward for the pasting he had received.

On the last ball of the 18th over, trying to go for another maximum, Sehwag slightly misconnected. It still took a spectacular diving catch from Francois du Plessis to send Sehwag on his way, but it was not before he had long done the damage with 122 off just 58 deliveries.

Punjab went on to post 226 for six in their 20 overs. Chennai gave them a scare until the end of the powerplay, with Suresh Raina scoring a blitzkrieg 87 off 25 balls to take his team to 100 in six overs. But some superb fielding by Punjab skipper George Bailey brought Raina's innings to an end and CSK eventually fell short by 24 runs.

This IPL season has been flooded with performances by emerging young players such as Maxwell, David Miller, Akshar Patel, Sanju Samson, Karun Nair and Sandeep Sharma. But after his remarkable comeback, Sehwag could himself be categorised as an emerging player 2.0.

Despite all the pyrotechnics on the field, perhaps the best moment of the match came in a chat with commentator Ramiz Raja at the end of Punjab's innings, when Sehwag revealed that his son had complained to him that he wasn't scoring runs, and his schoolmates were teasing him because of his poor form. "You just wait, buddy," he had replied.

It would be safe to say now that his little boy is going to be paraded around the school on his mates' shoulders.

As the once-rampant Kings XI Punjab discovered against the Kolkata Knight Riders on Wednesday, momentum is an all-powerful quantity in cricket this calendar year. 

Of course, the points table didn't show it. But close observers of this season's Indian Premier League knew: The Kings XI were running into the wrong opponents at the wrong time. 

In the lead-up to this pivotal first qualifier, Robin Uthappa had been going all world record on the tournament's bowlers. Sunil Narine's wizardry had been bordering on the dark arts. Morne Morkel had recaptured his ferocity from Port Elizabeth. Yusuf Pathan had dismembered Sunrisers Hyderabad. 

It had all transpired to give the Knight Riders seven wins from seven—and the No. 2 seed to boot. 

In contrast, George Bailey's Punjab outfit had meandered its way into the playoffs. A blistering start and clean sweep of the tournament's UAE leg meant the Kings XI had hit cruise control early. The pyrotechnics from Glenn Maxwell and David Miller had been fading. Virender Sehwag's form was on the wane. Sandeep Sharma had slowly lost his touch. 

Despite wins in four of their last six, the tournament leaders had been soundly defeated in each of their recent encounters with playoff-bound opponents.

Kings XI Punjab had peaked. The Kolkata Knight Riders were ominously trending upward. 

A result mirroring that respective form ensued on Wednesday. Bailey's side was trounced. 

Now, the men in red desperately need a victory to avoid throwing away what was once a sparkling campaign. But the task is an unenviable one: a knockout clash with the most dominant franchise in the IPL's history. 

It must be remembered that the Kings XI cruised past Chennai in both of the team's league-phase showdowns this season. In the third match of the tournament, the Maxwell-Miller tandem blasted Punjab home in their chase of 206. Three weeks later, Kings XI batted first and romped their way to an insurmountable 231-4 with much the same recipe. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8iXIZKQZw0

Yet, those evenings feel distant. The brazen hubris has slowly ebbed away from the Kings XI outfit. Based on the precedent set in 2014, lost momentum is extremely difficult to rediscover. Stopping opponents who are surging with it is even harder. 

You only need to look how Australia's 2013-14 Ashes series panned out once the ascendancy had been seized—and what happened to England once it had been lost. Concurrently, in the middle of that dramatic tour, the Perth Scorchers rode a late wave of momentum to upset the Melbourne Stars and Sydney Sixers in Australia's own Twenty20 indulgence, the Big Bash League. 

Michael Clarke's boisterous outfit then dismantled the South Africans on their own turf. Such was Australia's conviction, not even AB de Villiers or Dale Steyn could do enough to reverse the tide. On a different continent, Sri Lanka used an impressive stretch of limited-overs results to propel the nation to the Asia Cup crown. A barnstorming run to the capture of the ICC World Twenty20 title quickly followed.

Perhaps the packed international schedule benefits those on the crest of the wave for a short while: There's not enough time to lose touch. Beleaguered teams can't regroup. 

But you get the feeling that the IPL is a little different when it comes to sustaining it. Australia's Ashes humiliation stretched just five matches in the main format. The South African leg spanned just three. Meanwhile, Perth's Big Bash campaign only included 10 hit-outs. Sri Lanka's two pieces of silverware were won after only five and six games, respectively. 

In this tournament, Kings XI Punjab are already 15 games deep. Staying so hot for so long has proved rather difficult. 

So as Bailey's men prepare for their do-or-die second qualifier against Chennai on Friday, forget the analysis of matchups, forget the talk of conditions and ignore the selection possibilities. It's not even about MS Dhoni's Super Kings.

Instead, for the Kings XI, Friday will be nothing more than a head-on duel with momentum. 

The problem is: They don't have any of it. 

Rajasthan Royals will be looking to seal their play-off spot in Mohali, whilst Kings XI Punjab hope to bounce back from the defeat to Mumbai Indians and give the Mohali crowd a first taste of the form that has taken them to the top of the table.

Venue: Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali

Date: Friday, May 23

Time: 3:30 p.m. BST/8 p.m. local time

Live on: Sony Six, Star Sports HD, Star Sports 1 (India), ITV4 (United Kingdom), SuperSport (South Africa), OSN (UAE), SkyTV (New Zealand), Network Ten (Australia), Channel 9 (Bangladesh), Sportsnet and Omni (Canada), Sports Max (West Indies), Geo Super (Pakistan) and Starhub (Singapore). 

Weather: A mostly sunny day in Mohali with a bit of cloud cover as temperatures rise to 38 degrees Celsius in the afternoon according to the Weather Channel. As the sun goes down, temperatures will cool to around 29 degrees Celsius by the time the first ball is being bowled at 8 p.m., and this will get gradually cooler throughout the evening. The humidity will increase slightly from 37 percent at 8 p.m. to 40 percent by 11 p.m.

Overview

Both sides come into this game off the back of defeats to a rejuvenated Mumbai Indians side. Last Monday the Royals' batting failed to fire with nobody from No. 2 through to No. 7 making double figures. Kings XI Punjab lost their first game in Mohali as Lendl Simmons thundered his way to the first century of the 7th edition of the IPL.

KXIP have long since booked their place in the play-offs but will be hoping for the win that will secure their place in the first qualifier at Eden Gardens, thereby giving themselves a nice buffer with two chances to make the final.

There is no such luxury for Rajasthan Royals, who looked to be well set for the play-offs until their recent set-back in Ahmedabad, and consecutive victories from Sunrisers Hyderabad and Mumbai Indians have ramped up the pressure with both snapping at their heels.

Defeat could potentially set up a winner-takes-all decider against Mumbai at the Wankhede on Sunday that they will be keen to avoid.

Depending upon tomorrow's #KXIPvsRR match result the remaining IPL league matches will be exciting or a dead rubber. RR's loss = exciting

— vasantha kumar (@charles044) May 22, 2014

It could well be all about the Australian elements on each team, with skipper George Bailey and Glenn Maxwell offering middle-order muscle to KXIP and Shane Watson leading from the front for RR with James Faulkner and Steve Smith lending their captain support with bat and ball in hand.

With Mumbai Indians' slower bowlers proving effective and the Mohali pitch offering little to the seamers, Rajasthan Royals will be hoping to mimic the Mumbai performance, hoping that their slow bowlers can keep the fearsome Punjab top six quiet and one of Watson or Ajinkya Rahane can play the Simmons role, chipping in with a match-winning knock from the top of the order.

Ankit Sharma has the second best economy rate in the IPL and the Royals will be looking to him for vital control.

Whichever way it goes, the crowd will certainly be hoping to see plenty of runs, with batsmen from both teams featuring in the top-runscorer list for this edition.

MosT_RuNs In_IPL7_2014 + Uthapa_536* Maxwell_533 D_Smith_454 Warner_434 McCullum_380 AB_372 Duminy_357 Millier_323 Rahane_316 + *_ALI_KHAN_*

— PepsiIPL2014 (@PepsiIPLScore) May 22, 2014

Key Players

Kings XI Punjab

Glenn Maxwell remains the key man, and having been overtaken by Robin Uthappa in the race for the Orange Cap will be keen to arrest his recent slip from the high standards he set earlier in the tournament and fire KXIP to victory.

Rajastan Royals

As Mumbai Indians showed, getting Maxwell out cheaply is key to beating KXIP, and with half of his 12 dismissals coming to leg-spin, the wily experience of veteran Pravin Tambe could prove pivotal to the outcome of this game and the Royals bid to secure their play-off place.

Squads:

Kings XI Punjab

George Bailey (capt.), David Miller, Manan Vohra, Virender Sehwag, Mitchell Johnson, Cheteshwar Pujara, Shaun Marsh, Wriddhaman Saha, Thisara Perera, Glenn Maxwell, Rishi Dhawan, Anureet Singh, Sandeep Sharma, Akshar Patel, Beuran Hendricks, Karanveer Singh, Murali Kartik, Shivam Sharma, Shardul Thakur, Laxmipathy Balaji, Parvinder Awana, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Mandeep Singh.

Rajasthan Royals

Shane Watson (capt.), Ajinkya Rahane, James Faulkner, Stuart Binny, Sanju Samson, Brad Hodge, Steven Smith, Abhishek Nayar, Ben Cutting, Kane Richardson, Tim Southee, Unmukt Chand, Ankush Bains, Vikramjeet Malik, Rahul Tewatia, Ankit Sharma, Amit Mishra, Deepak Hooda, Rajat Bhatia, Kevon Cooper, Iqbal Abdulla, Dhawal Kulkarni, Pravin Tambe, Karun Nair, Dishant Yagnik.

Squads and data taken from ESPNCricinfo.

It's make or break time for defending Champions Mumbai Indians against the Glenn Maxwell-powered table-toppers Kings XI Punjab.

Venue: Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali

Date: Wednesday, May 21

Time: 3:30 p.m. BST, 8 p.m. local time

Live on: Sony Six, Star Sports HD, Star Sports 1 (India), ITV4 (United Kingdom), SuperSport (South Africa), OSN (UAE), SkyTV (New Zealand), Network Ten (Australia), Channel 9 (Bangladesh), Sportsnet and Omni (Canada), Sports Max (West Indies), Geo Super (Pakistan) and Starhub (Singapore). 

Weather: It will be a typically hot day in Punjab with the sun belting down all day, with temperatures peaking at around 37 degrees Celsius in mid-afternoon according to The Weather Channel. This should cool to around 29 degrees Celsius by the 8 p.m. start, gradually getting cooler over the course of the game. Humidity levels will increase from 34% at the start of the game to around 39% by 11 p.m.

Overview

Kings XI Punjab have been the team of the tournament so far with some breathtaking batting displays. The Kings XI have the three highest team totals and six of the top nine, and two of the other three - scored by Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad - were rendered futile as Punjab chased them down in the same game with more than an over to spare.

With Punjab having already qualified for the play-offs, this represents a pressure-free homecoming and an opportunity for them to finally show the Mohali crowd why they're top of the league in their first proper home fixture of this edition.

For Mumbai Indians, it is a very different picture, with 3 wins needed from 3 to keep alive the slim mathematical chance of taking the 4th play-off spot.

9 matches to go & bar #DD every team in it. Even #MI. On NRR. If they win their 3 matches & at least one of #KKR or #RR lose their both #IPL

— CricWizz (@CricWizz) May 20, 2014

This fixture represents their toughest remaining assignment and they have a few reasons to keep the faith.

Firstly, they are one of two sides to have beaten KXIP so far in this edition, with Harbhajan Singh taking key middle order wickets including Glenn Maxwell, and punchy knocks from Rohit Sharma and Corey Anderson setting the stage for Kieron Pollard's blistering 28 from 12 balls that sealed the deal in the final over.

Secondly, they come into the game from a convincing victory over Rajasthan Royals with Mike Hussey and Lendl Simmons doing the business with fifty each to set a target of 178 that their spinners made light work of. 120 for the first wicket was their best opening partnership in 40 games and a welcome platform that has been absent throughout this edition.

The openers finally tick, first 50 run opening partnership of the season for #MI. #IPL

— Shubham (@BeingCricketFan) May 19, 2014

Both captains may well be more comfortable putting the opposition in to bat, with Mumbai having struggled to set imposing totals before their most recent victory. They had lost five of the first six games where they batted first.

With Punjab having successfully completed all five run-chases they have been set, Mumbai will look for a repeat of their first game, with spinners Harbhajan and Pragyan Ojha looking to apply the brakes to the likes of Maxwell, Virender Sehwag and David Miller.

If they can keep the total to little over 150, they will have confidence that Hussey and Simmons can build on their recent good form and build a platform for the wristy Sharma to find the gaps and the explosive Pollard to clear the ropes.

Key Players

Kings XI Punjab

Without doubt the player of the this edition has been Glenn Maxwell, and Mumbai got off lightly compared to most when he was dismissed for 45 from 27 balls in their last meeting. Maxwell is top run-scorer with 531 runs, has struck the most sixes with 35, and has the three highest scores having been dismissed in the 90s three times, all at a strike-rate of more than 200. Could this be the game where he reaches three figures? If Mumbai are going to keep their thin play-off hopes alive, keeping Maxwell quiet will be the key.

Mumbai Indians

Though Pollard can be a game-changer, Mike Hussey is a proven, consistent match-winner who can lead from the front and inspire victory, just as he did against the Royals earlier in the week. Leading scorer in 2013 edition with 733 runs, he has the third most man-of-the-match awards in IPL history and had the big-game pedigree that will be essential if Mumbai are to retain an interest in this edition beyond Wednesday.

Squads

Kings XI Punjab

George Bailey (capt.), David Miller, Manan Vohra, Virender Sehwag, Mitchell Johnson, Cheteshwar Pujara, Shaun Marsh, Wriddhaman Saha, Thisara Perera, Glenn Maxwell, Rishi Dhawan, Anureet Singh, Sandeep Sharma, Akshar Patel, Beuran Hendricks, Karanveer Singh, Murali Kartik, Shivam Sharma, Shardul Thakur, Laxmipathy Balaji, Parvinder Awana, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Mandeep Singh.

Mumbai Indians

Rohit Sharma (capt.), Corey Anderson, Jasprit Bumrah, Marchant de Lange, Ben Dunk, Chidhambaram Gautam, Shreyas Gopal, Harbhajan Singh, Josh Hazlewood, Michael Hussey, Praveen Kumar, Sushant Marathe, Pragyan Ojha, Kieron Pollard, Ambati Rayudu, Krishmar Santokie, Lendl Simmons, Pawan Suyal, Aditya Tare and Apoorv Wankhade.

Squads and data taken from ESPNCricinfo.