The Kings XI Punjab will play Kolkata Knight Riders at the Mohali ground in Chandigarh. Both the sides are struggling to get into the top four in the points table, with Punjab having won only one game out of the five matches they have played while Kolkata having won two.

Kolkata had had a good start to the tournament, but sudden batting woes at the top means that they have lost three successive games. However, it has been worse for the Kings XI Punjab, who lost three matches to start their campaign before scraping through one and then going down in another one. This is the reason why there is not much difference in the odds; Kolkata go in as favourites, but only just (9/10 at Totesport), as compared to 11/10 (Sky Bet) offered for a Punjab win.

Yuvraj Singh’s (4/1 at Sky Bet to top-score for Kings XI Punjab) on-field problems have been compounded by his security-breach issues and it will be interesting to see whether he actually plays in the game. It will be a big blow if he does not, as Kumar Sangakkara (3/1 at William Hill to be the best batsman for his side) is struggling for runs, whereas the needed firepower seems to be missing from the rest of the batsmen. There is a good chance that Shaun Marsh would be selected, but the question that begs to be asked is, who will go out then. Mahela Jayawardene’s (6/1 at Stan James to top-score for his side) lack of form could signal a break for him, while Irfan Pathan (7/1 at Sky Bet to be the best batsman for Punjab) could still be tried in the first six overs if a wicket falls early.

Kolkata had a reasonable start in their previous game against Mumbai, but the surprising bit was that despite the presence of Sourav Ganguly (7/2 at William Hill) and Chris Gayle (5/2 at Stan James to top-score for his side) as openers, the run-rate was pretty low. Ganguly looks like a pale shadow of himself and it would make sense for him to promote a right-handed batsman up the order instead of himself. He may also consider the Brad Hodge-Owais Shah (5/1 at Stan James to top-score for his Kolkata) swap, with Hodge (3/1 at Stan James to be the best batsman) having had shown signs of good form.

Brett Lee is tipped to play in the game, and that could just tilt the scales in Punjab’s favour.

Tips:
Favourites: Kings XI Punjab (11/10 at Sky Bet)
Top Punjab batsman: Kumar Sangakkara (3/1 at William Hill)
Top Kolkata batsman: Chris Gayle (5/2 at Stan James)