IPL 2015 LIVE

Match 27:

Kings XI Punjab VS Sunrisers Hyderabad
Date : Monday, April 27th 2015
Time : 20:00 IST (14:30 GMT)
Venue: Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali

What:

Match 27 of Pepsi IPL 2015 will feature Kings XI Punjab clashing with Sunrisers Hyderabad.

KXIP, runners-up in Pepsi IPL 2014, have two wins from six outings – one of which was against the Mumbai Indians and the other in the Super Over against the Rajasthan Royals. They had a disastrous outing when they took the field last time around; set a target of 193 by CSK, they batted out their twenty overs but only managed a total of 95 runs, eventually suffering their biggest defeat and slipped to the floor of the points table.

Sunrisers Hyderabad’s fortunes have been very similar to their opponents, in that they too have won two of their six matches in Pepsi IPL 2015. In their most recent outing, they came up second best against the Mumbai Indians. Needing to chase 158, SRH were well and truly on their way before David Warner and Shikhar Dhawan were dismissed in quick succession and the run-chase lost steam completely. The SRH batsman KL Rahul admitted after that match that the middle-order needed to wake up and start making contributions.

When:

27 April 2015, 8p.m. IST

Where:

Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali

The Protagonists"

After their dismal performance in the previous match, the focus will be on the Kings XI Punjab batsmen to put them back on track. The side was without the services of Glenn Maxwell in the previous match; having served one match the bench, the Australian will be hungry to get back in the mix. It remains to be seen if KXIP can find a place for the most-destructive batsmen in their squad. Among the others who need to get cracking are Virender Sehwag at the top and David Miller in the latter half of the innings.

Shikhar Dhawan and David Warner are SRH’s biggest match-winners with the bat. But given the lack of depth in the middle-order, the onus is the two left-handers to not only score the runs, but also to bat for long periods of time. They have scored the runs, but the need of the hour is for one of them to bat into the deep into the innings.

Contests to look-forward to

SRH and KXIP boast of two of the best bowlers in business currently. Dale Steyn and Mitchell Johnson have ravaged many a batting sides in world cricket. Which of the two has a bigger impact on the match could determine which team calls the shots.

Mitchell Johnson bowling to David Warner, and Dale Steyn bowling to Glenn Maxwell and David Miller are among the other battles which promise to be interesting.

Previous Meetings

The head to head between Kings XI Punjab and Sunrisers Hyderabad stands at two wins each.

While SRH won both the matches in the 2013 season, KXIP returned the favour in Pepsi IPL 2014, posting convincing wins on both occasions. In the first meeting last season, KXIP rode on Glenn Maxwell’s blitz to post 193 runs on the board after which the bowlers – led by Lakshmipathy Balaji - dismissed their opponents for 121 runs.

In the second meeting in Hyderabad, the hosts posted a challenging total of 209 riding on Naman Ojha’s 36-ball 79 and contributions from Shikhar Dhawan and David Warner. However, that would not be sufficient as KXIP knocked off the runs comfortably with eight balls to spare.

Trivia

Kings XI Punjab have won 10 of their 15 run-chases in IPL matches in Mohali.

The SRH captain David Warner has won the toss in only one of his team’s six matches this season.

What Next

Kings XI Punjab will be seen in the national capital next when they take on the Delhi Daredevils on May 1. Sunrisers Hyderabad meanwhile head back home – to Hyderabad – and play host to Chennai Super Kings on May 2.