If history is anything to go by, Indore should be playing hosts to yet another run-fest on Saturday. With the quality of big-hitters that both sides have at their disposal, it should come as no surprise if Kings XI Punjab and Rising Pune Supergiant score 400 runs between them in their Indian Premier League match on Saturday.

Punjab have certainly witnessed an overhaul of sorts over the last few months. With former India batsman Virender Sehwag overseeing matters and Australia’s Glenn Maxwell captaining the side, entertainment is not something that will come in small dosages from KXIP.

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One expects a fearless, attacking brand of cricket from the 2014 finalists. Rising Pune Supergiant, fellow strugglers from last season, have got off to a flyer with Steve Smith masterminding a thrilling last-over finish against Mumbai Indians.

While there will be runs galore from both sets of batters, the match will be won and lost in the middle overs. RPS’ leg-spin duo of Imran Tahir and Adam Zampa, who were excellent in the first game, hand their side the edge.

Time: 4pm

Venue: Holkar Stadium, Indore

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TV: Sony Max, Sony Six, Sony ESPN

Results in 2016:

Played: 2

KXIP won: 1

Rising Pune Supergiant: 1

Kings XI Punjab

  • This will be the first game that Glenn Maxwell will be captaining the team. He has so far played 167 T20 games in his career. The punters and commentators expect it to be cut from the same cloth for his batting. 
  • Apart from Maxwell and former captain David Miller, the other two foreign player spots are likely to be taken another Australia-South Africa duo in all-rounder Marcus Stoinis and Hashim Amla.
  • After playing a pivotal role in taking his team to their maiden IPL final, Maxwell’s stocks have fallen in the competition. Last season was a forgettable one for the Victorian, earning paltry returns of 179 runs from the 11 games he featured in.
  • KXIP finished at the bottom of the table last season. 
  • Maxwell will be KXIP’s tenth captain in as many seasons.
  • India pacer Ishant Sharma is representing his fifth franchise in the IPL, the joint most by any player.

“[Steve Smith] is due for a failure isn’t he? He has been doing great and the RPS have started on a strong note. But we should focus on our strength and we are confident that our game plan will work.”

Glenn Maxwell, Kings XI Punjab captain

Rising Pune Supergiant

  • The Supergiants lost all seven games while batting first last season. The two teams played out as many thrilling games with the encounter in Pune ending in a last-ball finish. The home team emerged triumphant during the game. 
  • Ashok Dinda is likely to get the drop in this encounter after being carved for 30 runs in an over by a belligerent Hardik Pandya. 
  • We are only into the fourth month of the year and Smith already has 994 runs to his name. New Zealand’s George Worker and out-of-favour India keeper Dinesh Karthik have crossed the 1,000-run mark.
  • Many believe that Ajinkya Rahane played his best T20 knock till date during the RPS vs MI clash. The India opener smashed 60 from just 34 balls to set the tone for a steep run chase. 
  • Former India and RPS skipper MS Dhoni was reprimanded for violating the IPL Code of Conduct in their opening game.

“Form is form anywhere, I guess, so you got to make the most of it when you’re hitting the ball well.”

Steve Smith, Rising Pune Supergiant captain

Squads

Kings XI Punjab

Glenn Maxwell (captain), David Miller, Manan Vohra, Axar Patel, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Anureet Singh, Sandeep Sharma, Shaun Marsh, Wriddhiman Saha (wicketkeeper), Nikhil Naik, Mohit Sharma, Marcus Stoinis, KC Cariappa, Armaan Jaffer, Pardeep Sahu, Swapnil Singh, Hashim Amla, Varun Aaron, Eoin Morgan, Matt Henry, Rahul Tewatia, Martin Guptill, Darren Sammy, Rinku Singh, T Natarajan, Ishant Sharma.

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Rising Pune Supergiant

Steve Smith (captain), MS Dhoni, Ajinkya Rahane, Faf du Plessis, Ben Stokes, Imran Tahir, Mayank Agarwal, Manoj Tiwary, Milind Tandon, Usman Khawaja, Ankush Bains, Rahul Tripathi, Saurabh Kumar, Rahul Chahar, Lockie Ferguson, Daniel Christian, Baba Aparajith, Rajat Bhatia, Jaydev Unadkat, Ashok Dinda, Ishwar Pandey, Adam Zampa, Deepak Chahar, Jaskaran Singh.