New teams face off on bouncy track
ESPNcricinfo previews the game between Pune Warriors and Kochi Tuskers Kerala in Navi Mumbai
Match facts
Wednesday, April 13Start time 2000 (1430 GMT)
Big picture
Yuvraj Singh and Mahela Jayawardene, the captains of the two new IPL franchises, were satisfied with their sides' performances in their opening games; Yuvraj with the demolition of his erstwhile team Kings XI Punjab and Jayawardene with the better-than-expected show against Royal Challengers Bangalore. Yuvraj looked pleased at the helm of an IPL side, something that hasn't happened a lot in the previous three seasons.Team talk
Given the pace-friendly nature of the track, both sides might want to take a look at the composition of their attacks, having played two specialist spinners in their opening matches. Pune have the option of playing West Indies fast bowler Jerome Taylor but coach Geoff Marsh hinted that they could go in with the same XI that beat Punjab. Kochi might want to push Parthiv Patel up the batting order where he proved to be successful for Chennai Super Kings.In the spotlight
The experienced Alfonso Thomas was instrumental in pegging Punjab back upfront with pacy deliveries, taking two of the first three wickets, including that of Adam Gichrist with a bouncer. How will he fare against the strong Kochi top order?Prime numbers
- Yuvraj Singh is the only bowler to take two hat-tricks in the IPL
- After his unbeaten 158 off 73 deliveries in the first game of the IPL in 2008, Brendon McCullum averages 24 in 22 IPL games at an underwhelming strike-rate of 118.50
The chatter
"When he wants to bowl a yorker, he can nail that yorker. Similarly, whatever he wants to do he can do. He's got skills with the ball like you talk about Zaheer Khan."Murali Kartik talks up his Somerset team-mate Alfonso Thomas
Abhishek Purohit is an editorial assistant at ESPNcricinfo