The 51st game of the tournament will see the Kings XI Punjab unveil their new stadium in the IPL, often regarded as one of the most beautiful grounds in the country, the Dharamshala Cricket Ground, for the game against the Deccan Chargers.
Punjab is practically out of the tournament, but Deccan Chargers can still make it to the semi-finals of the tournament if they win their remaining two games. Both sides will go into the game after won the previous match. However, the unknown nature of the pitch, weather conditions and the height – it is at 1500 meters above sea level – could mean that it will become difficult predicting the favourites for the game.
Blue Square offers 8/11 for a Deccan win as compared to 6/5 (Boylesports) for Kings XI Punjab to win their fourth game in five matches.
Punjab have bowled rather well in the last couple of games against the Mumbai Indians and Delhi Daredevils, but it will be interesting to see how they go about their business batting first. Kumar Sangakkara (7/2 at Stan James) and Yuvraj Singh (9/2 at Sky Bet, both, to be the best batsmen for their side) have both found a bit of their form, in the last few matches and could be the players to watch out for, whereas Mahela Jayawardene’s (3/1 at Ladbrokes to top-score for his side) crisp timing has been a saviour.
With Adrian Barath (11/2 at Bet Fred to top-score for their side) struggling with an injury, there is a good chance that Ravi Bopara’s (5/1 at Bet Fred to be the best batsman) experience will be added to the side.
Adam Gilchrist’s (10/3 at Sky Bet to top score for his side) lack of runs will worry the Deccan management, and yet, they will be happy to take the wins despite the captain’s form. So far, the Deccan bowlers have been the ones to make all the moves, but one gets the sense that it will be difficult to keep the likes of Andrew Symonds (5/1 at Sky Bet) and Rohit Sharma (4/1 at Bet Fred to top-score for his side) quiet for long. If Herschelle Gibbs (15/4 at Boylesports to be the best batsman) plays – and I certainly think that will be the way to go at this stage of the tournament – he could be the one to go on and get a big enough score.
Tips:
Favourites: Deccan Chargers (8/11 at Blue Square)
Top Deccan batsman: Herschelle Gibbs (15/4 at Boylesports)
Top Kings XI Punjab: Mahela Jayawardene (3/1 at Ladbrokes)