The two not so fancied teams will take each other on Sunday. Pune Warriors are coming on the back of an impressive and in some ways unexpected win in their previous match against the Mumbai Indians. They will take on Kings XI Punjab, the team that was comprehensively beaten by Rajasthan Royals. Bothe Pune and Punjab team will know that it is a very important match for their team. The tournament will continue to get difficult for them as they will take on stronger sides and securing early points can really help them.

The Warriors bowled superbly against Mumbai to defend a modest total and will be hoping to repeat what they did; they will however have to bat better to win in future because they can’t keep defending a sub-standard total. The Punjab team in their first encounter gave away close to 200 runs and that was the main reason of them loosing the match.

For the crowd, it will be a good game to watch as some classy and world class performers will take the field and they will be in for some tremendous entertainment. Let’s have a look at some of these players.

Pune Warriors:

Callum Ferguson: The talented Australian was looking good before he was run out. He was timing the ball well and was finding the gaps in his short innings. He is a very good player to have in the middle-order as he is a good accumulator of runs and can play some big shots at the end of the innings. He is a key player in the Warriors side and he will be looking to emulate his Champions League form into this IPL season.

Steven Smith: The young Australian all-rounder is an efficient cricketer and showed his worth in the last match. He may not look very impressive when he is batting but he sure is very effective. Smith plays some unconventional strokes and is very good in analyzing the situation. The Warriors will again be banking on Smith to provide them with the late flair.

Murali Kartik: Kartik bowled an inspiring spell in the last match that the Warriors played. He was the main reason of them defending a small total against an explosive Mumbai Indians battling line-up. Kartik is a very good left-arm spinner and has the ability to turn even the new ball. He started the proceedings for the warriors in their win and surprised everyone with how he started extracting turn right from the word go.

Ashok Dinda: Dinda bowled a fierce spell against the Mumbai Indians. He bowled with good pace throughout the match and the Mumbai batsmen were all at sea against his pace. Dinda got some key wickets and helped his teams’ cause. He will be a threat to any team if he keep bowling the way he did against Mumbai Indians.

Kings XI Punjab

Adam Gilchrist: The captain of the Punjab team started off well against the Rajasthan Royals. He was middling the ball and was finding the gaps with ease. Gilchrist is one of the most dangerous batsmen in the world and if he gets going then the Kings will go a long way in the tournament. The short innings that he played against the Royals showed that he has still got that magic in his batting and he will be a player to watch out for in this match.

Shaun Marsh: Marsh may have failed in the first match, but you cannot count out this elegant Australian. He has been one of the most prolific run-scorers in the IPL history and every team will be aware of the things this batsman is capable of achieving. If he gets his eyes in, he can play some good innings and can win the match on his own.

Piyush Chawla: Chawla went the distance against the Royals, but going by the way he has performed over the years, he will come back strongly. He likes challenges and will be looking to show the world what he is capable of. Being a leg-spinner he has the natural ability of picking wickets, one thing in which he is different from the other leg-spinners is by his control. He does not bowl a bad ball that often and contains the innings quite well.

Praveen Kumar: Just like Piyush Chawla, Praveen Kumar also went the distance against the Royals. They failed as a unit against the Rajasthan team and that reflected in the runs that they gave away. Praveen Kumar will be hoping to get his rhythm back because he is very important player for the Kings XI. If he gets his line right, than his natural swing will trouble the batsmen.

By Gaurav Jha
Indian Sports News