The Pune Warriors will host the King XI Punjab in the fifth game of this fourth edition of the Indian Premier League. The game will be played at the Dr. DY Patil in Navi Mumbai, which is at a couple of hours’ drive from Pune.
This is the first time that the Warriors will play in the Indian Premier League and they have gone in with a rather strong batting line-up. Punjab, on the other hand, are lucky to be still a part of the IPL after they were unceremoniously dumped out by the BCCI for alleged flouting of rules before being reinstated by a High Court judgement.
Pune v Punjab odds:
For some strange reason, the Kings XI Punjab (5/4 at Coral) have gone into the tournament with not too many big-name players except the captain, Adam Gilchrist. While he possesses the ability to turn games around on his own, expecting him, a retired international, to do so consistently will be foolhardy. Pune seem to have covered all their bases and will be favourites (4/6 at Blue Square) to win this one.
Ground and Pitch:
The stadium at the Dr DY Patil is one of the better ones in the country and allows for good strokeplay. The outfield is also quick and while the humidity will be on the higher side, this will be a night game and the players’ comfort should be better than some of the other matches.
Player News:
Yuvraj Singh was anointed the captain of the Pune side after he had led the Kings XI Punjab for a couple of years. Yuvraj could have a point to prove to those who had dumped him at the end of the third edition of the IPL and he seems to have found his form at the right time.
He will be aided, in no small way, by the power-packed top and middle-order, that consists of the likes of Robin Uthappa, Manish Pandey and Jesse Ryder. There is a good chance that Manish Pandey will open the innings with Graeme Smith but after that, Yuvraj could look to changing things around based on the situation of the game.
Punjab have Gilchrist (7/2 at Stan James) at the top who could walk out with another wicket-keeper at the top of the innings, in Dinesh Karthik (9/2 at Boylesports). Shaun Marsh (10/3 at BetFred), who had won the Orange Cap in the first edition of the Indian Premier League, could be asked to man the middle-order but the side will miss the experience of David Hussey.
Amongst the Indian domestic players, it will be a toss-up between Love Ablish and Abhishek Nayar (12/1 at Paddy Power) for the middle-order berth.
Prediction:
Unless Punjab can come up with the magic that Rajasthan had shown in the first edition of the tournament, this one looks like it is going only one way – the Warriors’ (4/6 at Blue Square).
