Chennai Super Kings were the original run-mongers of the IPL. The depth of their line-up and the quality of their finishers bolstered a strategy of keeping wickets in hand and going berserk at the death. Kings XI Punjab have seen that and raised them with an even simpler method - pack your best hitters into the top order and let them wreak havoc. That is how they coasted into the knockout stages of the IPL, and that is why they are unbeaten in the Champions League. And that is how they have beaten Super Kings in three out of three meetings in 2014.
Super Kings also caught on to front-loading. Brendon McCullum, Dwayne Smith and Suresh Raina make an explosive top-three in T20s. They had begun the IPL by posting their best powerplay score in seven seasons, only to watch Glenn Maxwell pummel a 200-plus total to pulp. In the Eliminator, a Virender Sehwag century knocked the breath out of Super Kings' bowling, but a brutal counter from Suresh Raina kept the chase well under control. The back-and-forth resumes with Kings XI making the knockouts of a tournament for the third time, while Super Kings have three titles to their name.
Both teams relocate to Hyderabad from a place of comfort. Kings XI Punjab leave Mohali, where they have won 13 out of 18 games chasing. Super Kings have played all but one of their CLT20 games in Bangalore, where they tonked 242 for 6 against Dolphins, the joint-highest score in the tournament.
Neither side is as capable on the bowling front. Dwayne Bravo's versatility has been handy in the death for Super Kings. But the other seamers haven't been as reliable. Anureet Singh has been impressive in his first tournament for Kings XI, and Akshar Patel's darts have kept batsmen quiet. However, both teams seemingly function on curtailing runs rather than getting wickets.
Form guide
Kings XI Punjab WWWL (completed matches only, most recent first)
Chennai Super Kings WWLLW
Watch out for
46 off 34, unbeaten. 40 off 18, unbeaten. Kings XI's batting line-up is often never-ending and in David Miller, they have a player capable of drilling that into the opposition and deflating them. He tends to be relatively subdued when starting against spin, but has displayed signs of wanting to work past that period with singles.
Super Kings and death bowling has often been a rocky relationship and Dwayne Bravo has been tasked with counseling duties. He has bowled seven of his ten overs in the last five and can flash a shiny economy rate of 7.20 in the CLT20. With his medley of slower balls and his utility with the bat, Bravo has been a highly bankable resource for Dhoni.
Edited by sscomp32 - 11 years ago
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