MOHALI, Apr 9: Coming off a thumping away win over Pune Warriors, Kings XI Punjab will face a stern test when they take on a wounded Chennai Super Kings in their Pepsi Indian Premier League match, here tomorrow.
Having lost to Mumbai Indians in their opening game, the Super Kings would look to make amends quickly ahead of their match tomorrow. While a relatively inexperienced Kings XI side would go in as underdogs in this contest despite a resounding eight-wicket win over lacklustre Pune Warriors.
The Gilchrist-led side would aim for a similar show in the second match of the double header at the PCA stadium here.
On the bowling front, the hosts would be pleased with a disciplined performance from the seamers in the last match.
Pacer Praveen Kumar, who recently returned from an injury lay off followed by a ban, looked in good rhythm as he picked up two key wickets including that of dangerous Ross Taylor.
The Punjab team has a settled bowling combination led by Australian pacer Ryan Harris. Tidy performances from Parwinder Awana and leggie Piyush Chawla would also comfort the Preity Zinta co-owned side.
Punjab would be relying on former Pakistani allrounder and T20-journeyman, Azhar Mahmood, to come good with both bat and bowl while expecting seasoned T20 campaigner David Hussey to provide late flourish to the side.
The Kings XI batsmen, in their small run chase, looked imposing. Young Mandeep Singh would like to build upon his reputation of an enforcer and a case for selection in the national side.
On his IPL debut, Manan Vohra scored blazing 43 off just 28 deliveries and looked at ease playing at this level.
To pass the star-studded CSK test, the Darren Lehmann-coached side would be aware that they will have to labour hard at home. Though, still early days in the cash-rich league, the side would know the importance of fending off giants when they are still looking to settle down.
CSK, on the other hand, would be looking to put behind the disappointment of their nine-run loss. (PTI)
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