In the 67th game of the Indian Premier League 2011, the Kings XI Punjab will play the Deccan Chargers at the HPCA ground at Dharmasala.
While the Chargers have already been knocked out of the tournament, the Kings XI Punjab have a reasonably realistic chance of making it to the playoffs.
Punjab v Deccan odds:
Punjab (4/7 at
Stan James) were on the verge of elimination, needing to win five wins in a row to have a chance. They have now won four of those five and will need to ensure that they can pip the Chargers here. Not that a win will ensure their qualification, but a loss would certainly eliminate them.
For Punjab to qualify for the playoffs they need the Kolkata Knight Riders to lose their remaining game very convincingly or for the Mumbai Indians to lose both their matches.
The Chargers (7/4 at
bet365) will be playing for pride, but more importantly, they will be under a new captain in Cameron White, who will be desperate for success, both, as a captain and a batsman.
Ground and Pitch:
In the last two matches that have been played at this picturesque ground at the HPCA ground, the ball has come on nicely to the bat and that will allow the sides to play through the line and score really big.
Player News:
The absence of Kumar Sangakkara could be a bit of an issue as it will weaken the Chargers middle-order further. They may have won two games in a row, but it was more due to the bowling than the way they batted, which means that the side will be looking to their top-order to convert their starts.
For long, Sunny Sohal and Shikhar Dhawan have had their chances at the top of the order but failed to get to a big one. Sohal has scored a couple of half centuries but with scores 34, 20 and 26 in the last four games he has batted in, it has definitely been something of an issue. White’s inclusion should hopefully help, especially after he has had a break of a couple of weeks after a poor string of scores.
However, the responsibility will now be on the shoulders of JP Duminy, whose form has also dilly-dallied a lot.
On the other hand, Adam Gilchrist’s sizzling century against Bangalore gives the side some hope. This is after the side had been overly dependent on Shaun Marsh through the rest of the tournament – the century giving the side much to look out for in this game. David Hussey will get another chance after he did not get an opportunity to bat in the previous game.
Prediction:
Punjab should be favourites to win this one but Deccan is also on a two-match winning streak. They will look to spoil the Punjab party.