What

Match 14 of Pepsi IPL 2015 will be a repeat of last season’s final; Kings XI Punjab play host to defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders.

Kings XI Punjab have maintained more or less the same team that took them to the summit clash last season, but the results haven’t been to their liking so far. George Bailey’s team has won only one of their three matches so far; their win against the Mumbai Indians was sandwiched between defeats against Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Daredevils.

Kolkata Knight Riders meanwhile are back in action after a six day break. Their last outing was against the Royal Challengers Bangalore on April 11, when they posted 177 runs on the board but were blown away by Chris Gayle’s 96. Heading into this match, the challenge for KKR will be to shrug off the rustiness caused by the break.

When

18 April 2015, 8p.m. IST

Where

MCA International Stadium, Pune

The Protagonists

KXIP have plenty of depth in their lineup. Any one of the batsmen in their top six can win matches single-handedly. However, the two batsmen who are expected to do that more than the others – and have the opportunity of doing so because they bat in the top three – are Virender Sehwag and Glenn Maxwell. Sehwag has had starts in two of the three matches and will be keen to convert them to a big score, while Maxwell – who has had a quiet tournament so far – will be hungry to make a contribution soon.

Skipper Gautam Gambhir and his opening partner Robin Uthappa have been the pillars on which KKR have built their success in recent times. The ploy has been for one of them to drop anchor and bat well into the second-half of the innings, and allow the rest of the stroke-makers to flourish at the other end.

Contests to look-forward to

Glenn Maxwell against the battery of KKR spinners promises to be entertaining. In Sunil Narine and KC Cariappa, KKR have two mystery spinners, while Piyush Chawla will look to toy with the Australian, given his alleged weakness against leg-spinners.

Robin Uthappa and Gautam Gambhir are among the top opening pairs in the IPL. They will be pitted against Sandeep Sharma, who has made it a habit of striking early. The 21-year old Sandeep dismissed Rajasthan Royals opener Sanju Samson in his second over, saw the back of Mumbai Indians opener Rohit Sharma with his second delivery, and surprised Delhi Daredevils opener Shreyas Iyer with a short delivery and had him caught in his second over.

Previous Meetings

The Kolkata Knight Riders have a 9-6 win-loss record against Kings XI Punjab.

Last season, the two teams met on four occasions – twice in the league stage, once in the first of the Playoff matches and yet again in the title clash. KXIP won the first league match, but thereafter it was KKR all the way.

Trivia

In the two Pepsi IPL 2015 matches played at the MCA International Stadium in Pune, the quick bowlers have taken 16 wickets and conceded runs at 7.26, while spinners have taken 8 wickets and conceded runs at the rate of 8.65.

Sunil Narine has an economy rate of more than seven against only one IPL team – Kings XI Punjab. In eight matches, the KKR spinner has picked up 15 wickets, but has conceded runs at the rate of 7.13.

The team batting first has won 8 of the 9 IPL matches when they’ve posted 160 or more in IPL matches at the MCA International Stadium in Pune.

This will be KXIP’s last match at the MCA International Stadium in Pune in Pepsi IPL 2015. They will play their remaining four home matches at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium in Mohali.

Off Sandeep Sharma’s 29 wickets in the IPL, 21 have been of batsmen dismissed for single-digit scores.

What Next

Kings XI Punjab will travel to Ahmedabad for their next fixture against the Rajasthan Royals, scheduled for April 21. The Kolkata Knight Riders, who play three consecutive matches on the road in a span of five days, meanwhile make a stop-over in the national capital for their away tie against the Delhi Daredevils on April 20.